As of right now, I have way too many browser tabs open. In all this chaos, it’s highly likely that some of them have become irrelevant—maybe the content is gone, the topic is out of date, or I simply forgot why I had it open in the first place. So I decided to occasionally collect a few snippets here and add some thoughts from the tabs I found interesting over the last few weeks.

Maybe I’ll make this a regular thing - collecting and commenting on the tabs that survived my browser chaos. At least now I can close a few, and keep the ideas that stuck with me.

  1. Hodeida, the Houthis, and the Red Sea - https://magazin.zenith.me/de/politik/hodeida-die-huthis-und-das-rote-meer

This is an interesting analysis about the current situation and complex history of the port of Hodeida - a focal point of the conflict in Yemen. In the 1960s, the port served as a lifeline for the Zaidi Shiite regime, especially for armaments from the Soviet Union and China. Today, the port is of great geostrategic importance, giving the Houthis access to the Red Sea and serving as the most important logistics hub for weapons and troop transports. In 2014, the port fell into the hands of the Houthis without much resistance. Since then, they have tightened their control, presenting the port as a front line of defense against the US Navy and marginalizing the local population. It’s strange to see how little has changed—smuggling networks, now supported by Hezbollah, continue to expand the Houthis’ logistical reach. The Stockholm Agreement of 2018 was supposed to enable humanitarian aid, but it seems to have only bought the Houthis time to consolidate power. After the recent attacks by Israel, the port’s capacity has been massively reduced, worsening the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

  1. Is That Censorship? Libraries Under Pressure - https://www1.wdr.de/mediathek/audio/wdr5/wdr5-scala-hintergrund/audio-ist-das-zensur-bibliotheken-im-visier-rechter-gruppen-102.html

Interesting discussion about censorship in German and American libraries, which are coming under increasing pressure from political groups trying to influence inventories and public opinion. Libraries are confronted with “targeted acquisition requests” from right-wing groups or certain parties, demanding that certain books be acquired or removed. There are also protests against collections that “don’t belong” in libraries. The Münster City Library tried to address this by inserting categorization notices for “bad books,” which led to fierce criticism. It’s a reminder that libraries are not just neutral spaces - they’re battlegrounds for cultural and political influence.

  1. Potsdam’s Rechenzentrum: Endangered Cultural Space - https://www.rbb24.de/kultur/beitrag/2025/01/potsdam-kulturzentrum-rechenzentrum-abriss.html

It seems that the Rechenzentrum in Potsdam is more endangered than ever. One argument about the financial aspects struck me as odd: the city lends the building at cost price, resulting in very low rents (approx. 10 euros per square meter). If the contract is extended, rents should increase to ensure “financial fairness” - otherwise, other real estate operators in the city could demand the same conditions. So it’s considered unfair that other operators might want lower rents too? That’s a strange definition of financial justice. Sometimes it feels like the logic of the real estate market is completely upside down.

  1. Queer Joy as Subversive Act - https://deepcontemplationblog.wordpress.com/2018/08/22/in-a-world-that-doesnt-want-queer-people-to-be-happy-queer-joy-is-subversive/

Very good thoughts here: creating and supporting stories that portray queer happiness is a political act. These stories contradict the decades-long tradition in the media that queer people do not deserve happiness. Queer joy and positive representation are subversive in a world that does not want to see queer people happy. With the recent backlash against DEI in the US, this feels even more important now.

  1. The 1855 Storm Flood on Wangerooge and Neujahrsflut - https://www.ndr.de/geschichte/chronologie/Als-die-Sturmflut-von-1855-Wangerooge-in-der-Nacht-zerriss,sturmflut534.html and http://www.inselrundgang.de/geschichte/neujahrsflut.php

A really good overview of the storm flood of 1855, which was a drastic event that not only led to immediate destruction, but also brought about far-reaching social and economic changes on Wangerooge. It meant the end of the old village and the forced resettlement of a large part of the population. In Hamburg, it led to a rethink in the construction of dykes, which were only systematically modernized after another devastating flood in 1962. It’s a reminder of how natural disasters can reshape not just landscapes, but entire communities and policies.

Image: The Editions of Caxton and Wynkyn de Worde by Cecil Aldin from https://www.oldbookillustrations.com/illustrations/caxton-wynkin/