Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Belén Fernández the 30 year old American magazine editor and feature writer has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘Puerto Rico’s outlaw police force’ describing how police in the US territory have been accused of civil rights abuses and overzealous crackdowns on peaceful protests. In the article Fernández states “…intense crackdowns by Puerto Rican police on peaceful protests that began in response to fiscal austerity measures, the firing of 30,000 state employees, the suspension of collective bargaining rights, and a 50 per cent increase in tuition fees – rendering education prohibitively expensive for many students. …the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD)’s rampant violations of human and constitutional rights range from beatings with batons and nightsticks to sexual harassment of female protesters, from the administration of pepper spray at point-blank range and potentially lethal rubber bullets to the indiscriminate use of chemical agents – including tear gas dispersed from helicopters and a highly toxic form of gas not used in the US in 50 years. …As for disproportionate police-to-resident ratios, the PRPD’s employment of more than 17,000 officers for a population of 3.7 million is more than twice the national average. However, the expansion of both mainland policing activities and of a reality in which those tasked with the protection of civil rights are often the ones violating them – indicates that Puerto Rican struggles may indeed increasingly “mirror those across America”.”

Inspired by Aljazeera ow.ly/clBxl image source ow.ly/clBl4

Publishing as a set of expressionistic possibilities (September 23rd)

Darya Alexandrovna Zhukova the 30 year old Russian born US magazine editor has released the inaugural issue of the Garage magazine to much fanfare, with the inclusion on its cover of a Damien Hirst design of a butterfly tattoo created around a 23 year old model’s vagina. Zhukova who founded the IRIS Foundation, a non-profit organization promoting contemporary culture, was previously the Editor-in-Chief of Pop fashion magazine before resigning to create her own. In an interview with ArtInfo, Zhukova defined the concept for the Garage magazine as “Our aim is not to be controversial; instead … about providing a unique viewing experience. Admittedly, it is a magazine, but it really functions as an object, a space for ambitious projects to flourish, which is why the first issue has three different covers”.

Inspired by Andrew Goldstein http://ow.ly/6tXWn image source sherdog.net http://ow.ly/6tXVU