Offscript Weekly: Of “Good Trouble” And Ugly Truths  

• Booker’s marathon stand defied normalcy
• Protests erupt across borders, institutions
• Trump tariffs jolt global trade
• AI art stirs awe, unease

The agenda was set. He intended to get into “some good trouble” and disrupt the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as he was physically able. Senator Cory Booker managed to do that last week for a record 5 minutes past 25 hours, standing on his feet, without any food or even a bio-break! 

“I rise tonight because I believe to be about what is normal right now, when so much abnormal is happening, is unacceptable,” said the Democrat, who carried a pocket version of the Constitution with him, as he delivered an impassioned speech to protest the Trump administration's policies that threaten to dismantle all that we considered normal. 

In a show of stamina and grit, the core of Booker’s rousing political act was the exhortation to “speak up” against Donald Trump administration’s assaults on democracy, economy, diplomacy, public institutions and education, and funding cuts to public services and social programmes.  

Booker’s effort set a record for the longest speech in the chamber. No doubt this was a superhuman feat that befitted the current crisis, for “these are not normal times in America, and they should not be treated as such". The timing of this unique protest was no coincidence. The marathon speech came just before the Trump-touted ‘Liberation Day’, when sweeping new tariffs were announced that sent global trade and markets into a tizzy.     

Anger and protests are building up in the US and beyond – the “50501” (50 protests. 50 states. 1 day), “Hands Off!” and more. Meanwhile, the financial world is in meltdown mode - venting in the only way it knows how: a red-soaked stock ticker.

Back home in India, we witnessed some political marathons of our own. In a rare burst of legislative efficiency, both Houses of Parliament exceeded 110% productivity in the just-concluded Budget Session. The closing stretch even saw proceedings run well past 4 AM!

But there’s more to those long nights and red eyes than meets our eyes. As lawmaker Derek O’Brien of the Trinamool Congress writes in his column on the NDTV website: "Don't let the all-nighters deceive you". He cites ways in which the Opposition's role was clipped during the marathon sittings that saw consideration and passage of the contentious Waqf Amendment Bill and approval for President's Rule in Manipur.  Congress leader Sonia Gandhi lashed out at the powerful ruling party for “bulldozing” through the Waqf legislation.    

At a time seeing little action beyond Trump’s tantrums and their ripple effect globally, there was something totally off radar that caught the world’s attention – the ‘Ghiblified’ AI images. In a matter of seconds, using your reference picture, ChatGPT now conjures up images mimicking the style of Japan’s iconic Studio Ghibli – pastel palettes, magical landscapes, and soulful expressions. 

But just as I was tempted to try this digital sorcery, came a sobering reality check. Beyond the copyright and ethical concerns lies a darker threat: privacy breaches, deepfakes, identity theft. And the environmental cost? Jaw-dropping. A single Ghibli-style image, ChatGPT reveals, consumes as much electricity as running a microwave for several minutes and uses enough water to fill multiple glasses - all to cool the servers behind the scenes. Imagine millions Ghiblifying their pictures daily, with some even doing it multiple times over! 

This spells bad trouble.

Ranjana Chauhan