Britain’s second-largest broadband provider, Virgin Media, has said they want to start charging their content providers varying rates to deliver “prioritized” data, voice and video.

Basically, Virgin Media feels that if you pay for faster service, you’ll get it. If you’re one of those not willing to pay for the faster service, Virgin Media CEO Neil Berkett says you’ll end up in the “bus lanes”. This is based on the principle of network neutrality; where all content is distributed equally among all users where Neil Berkett also states that it is a “load of bullocks”.

Like all broadband providers, Virgin is facing the challenge of delivering growing volumes of video to users, using up huge chunks of broadband in the process. Berkett said Virgin is considering a fee-based system for content providers wishing to have their traffic moved faster than others.

I never thought that I would see the day when media companies might actually OK piracy. Apparently, in order to create a “buzz”, some companies seem to have accepted piracy in some form or another.

This debate has very strong opinionated views. Where some might find this as an exploratory way to generate money from another source, others tend to deem this behavior as intolerable.

But look closer and you realize that the corporate suits aren’t all adopting the same strategy. The music industry doesn’t seem able to make up its mind: First it turned a blind eye to traditional mix-tape piracy, then it cracked down on illegal file-sharing while raising the price of CDs, and finally it slashed the price of CDs in an attempt to compete head-on with downloads, legal and illegal.

Whatever is decided, I can bet that the debate will continue to spark controversy for years to come.

Finally, Dr. Death comes knocking.

Jack Kevorkian went to prison for helping people kill themselves. On June 1, he’s getting out. The most famous advocate for assisted suicide has left an indelible mark on the conscience of a nation and now he will be set free to continue his crusade to legalize doctor-prescribed suicide. What should we make of this?

Well, Constitutionally, if a person has a “right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” it would seem cruel to deny them the ability and the means to kill themselves if they chose to. The big ethical question is how do you determine whether that is a desire of a terminally ill patient or whether they were coerced, cajoled, or “influenced” to make the decision by someone else.

Dr. Kevorkian is 79 years old. He’s no spring chicken and the day will come soon when he will be looking death in the eye. One wonders, will he himself make the decision he has encouraged countless others to make? Only the future will tell. The next decade promises to be an exciting one for the living and for those who want to be dead.

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