Bitcoins have had an interesting history. Created in 2009 as a way to circumvent traditional credit agencies and make online transactions cheaper, they have gone on to be the currency of choice for money launderers, people who wish to purchase illicit items and most recently, speculators. For the uninformed, a bitcoin is an anonymous cryptocurrency.

Just a few days ago, the state of Missouri executed a man for a murder he committed in 1991. While I am personally opposed to the death penalty for a variety of reasons, the secrecy and the method behind this execution sets it apart. Herbert Smulls, the condemned, was not an exceptional death row inmate.

International sporting organizations are not known for being the most transparent of organizations. The world’s two most well-known, the International Olympic Committee and FIFA, have long and storied histories, much of which has to do with the innate corruption of their location bidding processes.

Earlier this month, one of the largest still-private startups that seems to have reached ubiquity in today’s ever-connected world announced it had filed for an initial public offering.

It is no secret that, compared to other developed nations, primary and secondary education in the United States has been lagging. What was once the best public education system in the world now falls behind countries such as Finland, South Korea and even Poland in terms of overall achievement.

Tuesday after class, I sat down to do my daily perusal of the New York Times on my computer. To my dismay, the so-called “Syrian Electronic Army,” (henceforth SEA) a hacker organization that ostensibly supports the embattled President Bashar Al-Assad, had earlier that day chosen to launch their latest attack against my news source of choice.

On March 29, the Pegasus oil pipeline, owned by ExxonMobil, ruptured in an upscale suburb of Little Rock, Ark. While the 5,000 to 7,000 barrel oil spill is dwarfed by the Deepwater Horizon spill from just a few years ago, it nonetheless raises serious questions about the safety of the large network of pipelines that crisscross the United States.

Like many a Wash. U. undergraduate, I have recently become addicted to the set of anonymous Facebook pages like “Wash U Confessions” and “Wash U Admirers” that purportedly detail the unspoken thoughts of students around campus.

Tuesday witnessed something of a miracle: the rebirth of a political career. In a primary election in South Carolina, former Governor Mark Sanford received 37 percent of the vote for a vacant seat in the House of Representatives. For those of you who don’t remember the scandal, a history lesson: in mid-June 2009, Sanford disappeared for six days.