Speaking of which, how much do you sell your DVD sets for on Ebay...
"Someone had to upload it first in order for it to be downloaded at all."
If someone left their house or car unlocked, does that make it okay for you to enter it?
Just because someone gives you the opportunity to break a law, doesn't mean you have the legal or moral standing to do so. Personal responsibility does come into play here.
"so is weed legal in some countries? yes. does that mean i can go buy it there and bring it back to the US for my personal use? no, because it then violate US laws. same for downloading files. does sweden have laws in place to protect US copyrights (apparently not) but does that mean its legal for someone in the US to download the file? nope"
Agreed.
I don't fool myself into thinking that putting these LD transfers to DVD, or downloading the ROTS workprint, is legal in any way, shape or form. It isn't even an issue, as far as I am concerned. It's something that I am going to do regardless, for many good personal reasons, none of which have a chance of hell of standing up in court. I've come to grips with this, but those of you soothing yourselves by coming up with reasons to validate your own individual acts of theft are just shouting at the wind. It changes nothing.