This video has been around for a few months, but I just came across it and it’s astounding. Check out this Brazilian teen’s scratch-built model backhoe. Using plastic syringes and silicon tubing, he’s created a miniature hydraulic system that functions the same exact way as the mechanism inside a real excavator. This kid is sharp.
A peek at Crimea’s controversial election day, Philly widens freeways by mistake, and does Austin, Texas, have a drinking problem? Plus, the incredible story behind Rio’s most famous monument, and the truth about earthquakes in L.A. Come along with us on this week’s Urban Reads.
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Meet Boneco, the world’s first beekeeping donkey. He lives in Brazil and helps his owner, Manuel Juraci, make honey. Boneco also does not appear to like his beekeeping suit. But boy does he look adorable while wearing it.
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Which would be more scary? A human being police officer, or a robot? On one hand a police officer can be reasoned with and talked to, but a robot will be non-discriminative and will just follow its given orders. Both have its ups and downs, but if you’re planning on heading over to Brazil to watch the World Cup later this year, you might want to keep an eye out for robot police. This is thanks to Brazil’s government securing a $7.2 million deal with iRobot, a Bedford, Massachusetts-based company, who will be providing the government with about 30 of its PackBot robots. These robots will be stationed through 12 of Brazil’s host cities during the soccer matchers and will also contribute towards checking out any suspicious objects.
For those wondering why the PackBot sounds familiar, it is because it was used to enter to Fukushima nuclear facility as well as being used after the East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in 2011. The PackBot feature a robotic propulsion system that will allow it to travel as fast as 9mph and will have built-in flippers that allows it to rotate itself and traverse over rugged terrain like rocks, rubble, and stairs. It also weighs around 40lbs and can fit into a backpack, allowing it to be transported and deployed with ease. Other features of the PackBot include a GPS system, video image display, system monitoring, an electronic compass, and temperature sensors.
Brazil Will Deploy Robots To Police The World Cup original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Rio de Janeiro, which has been getting lit up with lightning storms this week, just got hit with another one—and this one struck the city’s famous 125-foot tall Christ the Redeemer statue on top of the Corcovado mountain. A lightning bolt broke off a few fingers on his right hand.
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When not being used for poorly thought-out political revenge,
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Brazil’s national currency is the real, but you wouldn’t know that by looking at its iTunes storefront. Apple prices everything there in US dollars, which has led Brazil’s Consumer Protection Secretariat to write a formal letter to the company requesting an explanation. We’re not sure why this has taken so long, given that iTunes came to Brazil two years ago, but in any case Apple now has ten days in which to respond or face the threat of a penalty. Other countries that’ve tackled Apple over its pricing policies in the past have generally failed to reach a resolution, and in some cases citizens have even been urged to take matters into their own hands.
Filed under: Misc, Internet, HD, Mobile, Apple
Source: Brazilian Ministry of Justice
Beginning in May 2010, the NSA gained access to the Mexican Presidencia domain on the Mexican Presidential network and began monitoring then-president Felipe Calderon’s email account, according to a document leaked to Der Spiegel by Edward Snowden. The document also shows that the NSA has been surveilling the Brazilian government.
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They come bearing satellite TV. Brazil’s Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais, or BOPE, is an elite force of military police who often specialize in urban operations in Rio’s slums—or favelas. As the World Cup and the Olympics approach, BOPE forces are appearing more and more often. And their techniques are evolving.
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We’re a little late to this party, but it’s too fun not to share. Last week, a group of Brazilian hackers decided to get the NSA back for all its spying with a big huge cyberattack. And hack they did! The only problem is that they mixed up their acronyms, and hit NASA instead.
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