Good week, Bad week
Freedom of religion; Freedom from religion; The Indian military
Good week for:
Freedom of religion, after the Department of Veterans Affairs authorized U.S. soldiers who identify as Norse neopagans to have Thor’s hammer etched on their gravestones.
Freedom from religion, after Guantánamo Bay officials told a congressional delegation that the erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey—not the Koran—was the book most requested by the camp’s high-value detainees. “There’s not much going on, these guys are going nowhere, so what the hell,” said Rep. Jim Moran.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Fish tales, after the Kremlin posted a video purporting to show Russian President Vladimir Putin catching a monster 46-pound pike while vacationing in Siberia. “I wonder what is the name of the diver who put [it] on his hook,” said one Russian blogger.
Bad week for:
Doing what you love, after Minnesota tax officials hit transsexual musician Venus DeMars with $3,000 in back taxes by denying her deductions for expenses. Officials said DeMars took too much pleasure from her performances to be considered a professional.
The Indian military, after it spent six months investigating what it thought were 155 violations of its airspace by Chinese spy drones or UFOs, only to discover that the mysterious bright objects were, in fact, Jupiter and Venus.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Pranks, after a practical joker unleashed a noxious combination of deer repellent and fart spray into two cabins at a Bible camp in Maryland. Six campers were hospitalized, and a local Hazmat team was summoned “to help dissipate the strong odor.”
-
What has the Dalai Lama achieved?
The Explainer Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader has just turned 90, and he has been clarifying his reincarnation plans
-
Europe's heatwave: the new front line of climate change
In the Spotlight How will the continent adapt to 'bearing the brunt of climate change'?
-
Crossword: July 13, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Making amends, Justice, Saying ‘cheese’
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Reptile experience; Painless budget cuts; Driving with kids
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Closing the sale; Calling 911; Going to the circus
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Asking Google anything; Misanthropes; Persistence
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Torture, Irritating the cat, Being cheap
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Strolling in Naples; Infallibility; Mississippi
-
Good week, Bad week
feature Tesla; Entrepreneurship; Fortune-tellers
-
Good week, Bad week
feature The miracles of science; Wild times in Wisconsin; Holding hands