Syrians rescuing themselves after quake

+ SVB's collapse US Edition - Today's top story: Syrian earthquake devastated an area that was already a disaster zone – and highlights the vital role of local aid groups [View in browser]( US Edition | 13 March 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( The area of Syria hammered in the earthquakes that struck that country and Turkey in early February is in a war zone. Security risks have long left it off-limits for the most part to the foreign humanitarian aid workers who usually rush in to assist communities following big disasters. But Kimberly Howe, a Tufts University international relations scholar, [went there three weeks after the earthquake](. Having researched an aid group called Bahar, which sprang up in the Syrian city of Jindires, for the past decade, she wanted to see what role it was playing today. Her first-person account is both sobering and inspiring. “In the absence of the heavy equipment needed to remove large hunks of debris, I saw people using brooms and wheelbarrows to make a clean patch of earth where they could pitch their tents,” she wrote. “As far as I could tell, there were no other foreigners there during my visit.” Also today: - [What’s motivating the MAGA crowd]( - [How vinyl got its groove back on]( - [Ants’ real superpower? Their sense of smell]( Emily Schwartz Greco Philanthropy + Nonprofits Editor The earthquake destroyed many houses and buildings in northwestern Syria. Bahar Organization [Syrian earthquake devastated an area that was already a disaster zone – and highlights the vital role of local aid groups]( Kimberly Howe, Tufts University A scholar who visited Syria after the earthquake observes that as the war has dragged on, a humanitarian organization she’s researched for 10 years has branched out. Politics + Society - [I went to CPAC to take MAGA supporters’ pulse – China and transgender people are among the top ‘demons’ they say are ruining the country]( Alexander Hinton, Rutgers University - Newark A scholar of extremism attended the CPAC meeting in March, in part to try to understand political polarization, and only saw signs of a worsening divide. Economy + Business - [JetBlue merger with Spirit not cleared for takeoff – why Justice Department is suing to scupper deal]( Joe Mazur, Purdue University The Biden administration fears that further consolidation in the aviation industry will lead to worse outcomes for consumers – but do mergers necessarily push up prices? - [Silicon Valley Bank biggest US lender to fail since 2008 financial crisis – a finance expert explains the impact]( William Chittenden, Texas State University SVB, as it’s known, collapsed with lightning speed following a run on its deposits. - [Why employment remains red hot even as the Federal Reserve tries to put job market on ice]( Edouard Wemy, Clark University The Fed has been trying to tame employment and wages to keep inflation in check. It ain’t working. Health + Medicine - [What the research shows about risks of myocarditis from COVID vaccines versus risks of heart damage from COVID – two pediatric cardiologists explain how to parse the data]( Frank Han, University of Illinois at Chicago; Jennifer H. Huang, Oregon Health & Science University Parsing the risk of myocarditis from viral infection versus vaccination is challenging, and researchers are intensely studying the various factors that are at play. Ethics + Religion - [Who are Jehovah’s Witnesses? A religion scholar explains the history of the often misunderstood group]( Mathew Schmalz, College of the Holy Cross Several members were killed March 9, 2023, in Germany. Many people hold stereotypes about Jehovah’s Witnesses but are unfamiliar with their beliefs. Science + Technology - [Smell is the crucial sense that holds ant society together, helping the insects recognize, communicate and cooperate with one another]( Laurence Zwiebel, Vanderbilt University; Stephen Ferguson, Vanderbilt University Researchers explore what happens when ants can’t properly use smell to detect friend from foe. - [Marburg virus outbreaks are increasing in frequency and geographic spread – three virologists explain]( Adam Hume, Boston University; Elke Mühlberger, Boston University; Judith Olejnik, Boston University The Marburg virus, a close cousin of Ebola, currently has no approved treatments or vaccines to protect against it. - [What exactly is the internet? A computer scientist explains what it is and how it came to be]( Fred Martin, UMass Lowell Almost everybody uses the internet just about every day. But do you really know what the internet is? Arts + Culture - [Vinyl record sales keep spinning and spinning – with no end in sight]( Jay L. Zagorsky, Boston University Their popularity can’t be explained by the nostalgia of baby boomers or superior sound quality. So what’s going on? - [Winning everything everywhere all at once: 5 experts on the big moments at the Oscars 2023]( Ari Mattes, University of Notre Dame Australia; Deborah Fisher, University of the Sunshine Coast; Gregory Camp, University of Auckland; Jindan Ni, RMIT University; Robert Boucaut, University of Adelaide The Oscars 2023 was a less scandalous affair than last year, and was defined by huge wins by crowd-favourite films. Trending on site - [11 things you can do to adjust to losing that 1 hour of sleep when daylight saving time starts]( - [Who are Jehovah’s Witnesses? A religion scholar explains the history of the often misunderstood group]( - [Unlocking secrets of the honeybee dance language – bees learn and culturally transmit their communication skills]( Today's graphic [A chart showing the rates of housing vulnerability among renters of different racial and ethnic groups in 2020, 2021 and 2022.]( From the story, [COVID-19’s housing crisis hit many Asians in the US hardest – but only after government aid began flowing]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our weekly and biweekly emails: • [Weekly Highlights]( • [Science Editors' Picks]( • [This Week in Religion]( • [Politics Weekly]( • [Global Perspectives]( • [Global Economy & Business]( Trying out new social media? Follow us: • [Mastodon]( • [Post.news]( • [Instagram]( • [LinkedIn]( - - About The Conversation We're a nonprofit news organization dedicated to [helping academic experts share ideas with the public](. We can give away our articles thanks to the help of foundations, universities and readers like you. [Donate now to support research-based journalism]( [The Conversation]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation]( 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451 [Forward to a friend]( • [Unsubscribe](