Saima Desai
@desaima.bsky.social
3.2K followers 220 following 14 posts
Indie media forever. ❤️‍🔥 Editor for @thegrindto.bsky.social, editorial collective of @btlbooks.com, former editor of @briarpatchmag.bsky.social.
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desaima.bsky.social
On Saturday, Sept. 20, an unusual coalition of climate, migrant, and Indigenous groups are getting together to draw a line.

They're pushing back against @mark-carney.bsky.social's hard right turn against Indigenous Peoples and migrants.

I spoke to organizers about what the road ahead looks like:
thegrindto.bsky.social
As Canada's new prime minister bends to big business and Donald Trump, a coalition of climate, migrant, Indigenous and anti-war activists are putting up a fight. Draw The Line rallies are being held across Canada on Saturday, including in Toronto. By @desaima.bsky.social.
‘Drawing the Line’ on Carney’s Right-wing Agenda
As the new prime minister bends to big business and Donald Trump, a coalition of climate, migrant, Indigenous and anti-war activists are putting up a fight.
www.thegrindmag.ca
desaima.bsky.social
I want to live in a Toronto that can support a paper like The Grind.

Because a city that can sustain local indie media is a city that can be shaped by local indie media.

Help The Grind reach our summer fundraising goal!
thegrindto.bsky.social
We've been so busy publishing this summer that we didn't push our fundraising campaign, and the season is almost wrapped! Can you chip in so The Grind can keep putting out hard-hitting stories in Toronto?

Support here: www.thegrindmag.ca/support-the-...
A graphic reading "The Grind's summer fundraising goal is $7,000. Help us reach it by Sept 21. Keep local, independent journalism alive in Toronto! thegrindmag.ca/support " And there is a red and green progress bar showing $1,500 of the way to $7,000.
desaima.bsky.social
Over two thirds of Canadians live in suburbs. And when the left neglects organizing in those suburbs, we give up on reversing the right-wing tide across Canada.

Aniket Kali and I talked to the organizers in the GTA who are working to turn the tide:
desaima.bsky.social
@btlbooks.com is halfway to their goal of funding a new graphic novel on the history of anti-fascism.

I don't need to tell you how important it is to bring the lessons of anti-fascist resistance into the present right now.

Pitch in to help BTL publish! www.kickstarter.com/projects/139...
PARTISANS: A Graphic History of Anti-Fascist Resistance
Eleven new graphic histories by legendary & emerging creators flipping the script on anti-Nazi and anti-fascist resistance.
www.kickstarter.com
desaima.bsky.social
The Grind is doing a food issue! Pitch us stories about the GTA's best roti, the food truck turf wars, the working conditions at your favourite restaurant, etc.

Pitches due April 25 – but sooner is better.
thegrindto.bsky.social
We're doing a food issue! Toronto is a food city with amazing eats, but it also comes with a hidden underbelly. We want stories about all of it.

See the call for pitches and get in touch by April 25.
Call for Pitches: Food Issue
Pitch or send a story tip by April 25…
www.thegrindmag.ca
desaima.bsky.social
I had the great honour (and great fun) of judging features for @canadamediaawards.bsky.social this year. Keep an eye out for nominations soon. 👀
canadamediaawards.bsky.social
✨ Meet a National Magazine Awards Judge!

@desaima.bsky.social is an editor, writer, and indie media diehard. She was previously the editor of @briarpatchmag.bsky.social, where she won Issue Grand Prix at the 2022 NMAs.

Nominees announced May 1! 🗓️

Full jury here: zurl.co/RiJ63
desaima.bsky.social
Thanks for reading and sharing, Bianca!
Reposted by Saima Desai
henrikbechmann.bsky.social
"The device, which reads the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air, showed CO2 levels as high as 3,500 parts per million (ppm) in his classroom."

That's insane.
desaima.bsky.social
When kids are living with pandemics, wildfires, and pollution, filtering the air in their schools is a simple fix.

So why is it such an uphill battle in Toronto?

In the newest issue of @thegrindto.bsky.social I wrote about the parents fighting for clean air in Toronto classrooms:
thegrindto.bsky.social
Stuffy, crowded classrooms mean kids are breathing in viruses and pollution. Parents are trying to make the air safer, but hitting roadblocks. By @desaima.bsky.social.
Reposted by Saima Desai
canadahealthwatch.ca
Crowded classrooms mean kids are breathing in viruses and pollution. Parents are trying to make the air safer, but hitting roadblocks. www.thegrindmag.ca/airborne-dan... @desaima.bsky.social @theingredientslist.bsky.social @mjnabuurs.bsky.social

𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀: CanadaHealthwatch.ca/newsletter 🍁
The air quality monitor Heather Pun’s son takes to his school.
desaima.bsky.social
When kids are living with pandemics, wildfires, and pollution, filtering the air in their schools is a simple fix.

So why is it such an uphill battle in Toronto?

In the newest issue of @thegrindto.bsky.social I wrote about the parents fighting for clean air in Toronto classrooms:
Reposted by Saima Desai
thegrindto.bsky.social
SPECIAL ISSUE ANNOUNCEMENT

Doug Ford called a snap election, so we're publishing an issue about his seven-year reign, out free in print in two weeks.

We need $5,000 to make it happen. Chip in by:
- E-transfer info[at]thegrindmag[dot]ca
- Credit card: buy.stripe.com/6oE02D00TgZ4...
Photo of Doug Ford sitting down, signing a piece of paper in a binder. The colours are altered so everything is blue and black except Doug who is might brighter and whiter.
Reposted by Saima Desai
desaima.bsky.social
NEW: Aniket Kali and I dig into the growing alliance between Hindu nationalists and the Conservative Party of Canada.

The CPC has won over a majority of Hindu voters, with help from right-wing Hindu groups. If the CPC is elected, these groups want Hindu nationalist policy in return. #canpoli
breachmedia.ca
Right-wing Hindu organizations have recently been springing up in Canada, often parroting Conservative talking points about crime, cost of living, and anti-LGBTQ politics.

@desaima.bsky.social and Aniket Kali investigate this emerging political alliance. breachmedia.ca/hindu-conser...
Inside the Conservative Party’s growing alliance with right-wing Hindu groups ⋆ The Breach
Hindu organizations are springing up in Canada, often parroting Conservative talking points about crime, cost of living, and anti-LGBTQ politics
breachmedia.ca
Reposted by Saima Desai
hebagowayed.bsky.social
Written by my sister @emanabdelhadi.bsky.social

Has the fire ceased?

Have the leaders of institutions that sanctioned our slaughter repented? Have the weapons manufacturers been seized? Have the halls of power been turned over to the masses?

inthesetimes.com/article/isra...
Has the Fire Ceased?
We will not stop until Palestine is free.
inthesetimes.com
Reposted by Saima Desai
neginowl.bsky.social
Please, please read Shahad Ali writing from Gaza in @truthout.org today on "plans - tiny hopeful plans" she made for her life post-ceasefire.

"There was a quiet understanding that this ceasefire, though temporary, had given us something priceless — a moment to reconnect with what had been lost."
In Gaza, Ceasefire Will Be a Chance to Finally Breathe
No longer fearing constant bombing, I can begin to mourn all I have lost in Gaza.
truthout.org
Reposted by Saima Desai
emanabdelhadi.bsky.social
All eyes on Gaza. The ceasefire agreement doesn’t begin for 72 hours and Israel is on a killing spree.
Reposted by Saima Desai
truthout.org
As the U.S. declares that Sudan’s RSF have committed genocide during the country’s ongoing civil war, this episode of Movement Memos unpacks what the world is missing about Sudan’s struggle. “This war is not a civil war, it’s a war of military elites against the entire civilian population.”
Breaking Down Sudan’s Struggle: What the World Is Missing
“This war is not a civil war, it’s a counterrevolutionary war against civilians,” says Sudanese organizer Nisrin Elamin.
truthout.org
Reposted by Saima Desai
truthout.org
Despite the fact that Seattle is home to 11 billionaires and 54,200 millionaires, the city had planned to close up to 21 schools due to massive budget shortfall.
Seattle Planned to Close Up to 21 Public Schools — Here’s How We Stopped Them
A grassroots push from parents, students and teachers blocked the closures. Here is our blueprint for resistance.
truthout.org
desaima.bsky.social
Love this argument by @freepress.bsky.social's Alex Frandsen in @truthout.org for building up local media as part of our movements' plans to confront authoritarianism – "both to protect people in the short term and to rebuild our democracy over the long haul," he writes. truthout.org/articles/wit...
Without Transformative Local Media, Our Communities Are Vulnerable
We need to break the billionaires’ grip on our democracy — and that starts with loosening their hold over local media.
truthout.org
Reposted by Saima Desai
neginowl.bsky.social
A little biased, but I think the work Truthout is doing in this moment is so crucial, and we have lots planned for Trump's day one - and all of the days after that.

I'm so proud of what our small and mighty independent newsroom offers each day but we definitely can't do it alone!
truthout.org
Help us prepare for Trump's Day One

Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office.
Reposted by Saima Desai
ziggywest.bsky.social
Some of the fundraising language we use at Truthout is easy to gloss over but it's actually pretty remarkable -- we're nonprofit, union, have no ads, no paywall and we're primarily funded by small donations. It's a hell of a business model but we need an urgent boost to take it further in 2025.
truthout.org
Help us prepare for Trump's Day One

Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office.