This is a social justice newsletter focusing on immigration and civil liberties issues. For a first issue, it isn’t bad, although its histrionic tone does seem self-defeating. There is, for instance, no need to refer to “cop bastards” whenever they write about police misdeeds. Nor do they need to write as if injustice and racism were invented in Waterloo. For the time being, they should assume that most of their readers are somewhat knowledgeable about these issues, and have a back-ground in these kinds of discourse. The article on how Somali immigrants are being affected by Canada’s class-conscious immigration policies was well documented, information and examples replacing hysteria. Rukus needs to tone down the rhetoric, establish some regular features and columns so readers can quickly find info about specific issues. Their list of sources could also be expanded. Without establishing a fair degree of credibility, Rukus preaches and insists and demands. But who are they and why should we automatically assume that what they say is the truth? Hopefully, this will evolve into an excellent source for information and debate.
newsletter / #1, 16 pages / main creators: Mohammed Tabit, Neil Stewart, Mandi Gilmore and more / $1 / 75 King St. S., Waterloo, ON, PO Box 40067, N26 4V1