who are you talking to?
I'm a small 'content producer' who has 100% embraced digital distribution, does not employ lawyers, and does not support the RIAA, MPAA or any other government lobbying organisation.

And hey, guess what, TPB rip me off along with everyone else. Could it be that they just dont give a fuck about the effects of their actions? Lumping in TPB with some sort of anti-corporate crusade is silly. Those guys just sold out for millions, and were originally financed by a right wing millionaire called carl lundstrom.
TPB are as corporate as walmart.

I agree with you in that I strongly value freedom of speech too, I just think that TPB are the WORST cheerleaders for any free-speech cause.
The minute you lump in freedom of speech and censorship issues with torrents of The Sims and Spiderman 3, you trivialise the whole issue.

There is a whole generation of politicians who look at people defending TPB in the cause of free speech, and see just a petty excuse for virtual shoplifting.

Anyone who really believs in free speech online should distance themselves from a site based around viagra adverts and hollywood movie torrents.
TPB is (and always has been) about making money. Anything else is just PR to give them covering fire.

what 'values' are they fighting for exactly?
giving away everyone elses work for free whilst selling ad space?

no it doesn't.
downloading and sharing pirated music, then getting caught, destroying the hard drive to cover your tracks, repeatedly lying in court, changing your story several times and forgoing about a dozen offers to settle out of court when you are clearly 100% no argument totally and utterly guilty and caught red-handed gets you that.

Most people who get caught breaching copyright law have the minimal number of brain cells needed to admit guilt and pay a relatively small fine. Lets not act as cheerleaders for dumbasses who think they can wriggle out of it.

why?
to punish them for actually supporting the people who create content?
Why the hell would anyone be so petty as to do that?
You realise that when you eat, you buy food that makes money for *gasp* evil corporations!!!!

"Who is going to pay the people who take the time and effort to encode "

Wow. that sure it is a lot of effort. especially when you compare it to the apparently valueless and trivial (according to pirates) effort of actually making a movie.

"Lots of people, like Trent Reznor, for example, are making piles of money while still practically giving their music away"

its easy to make more money once you are already a millionaire.
Lemme guess, you had never heard of this guy, nor had anyone else, and he was suddenly on every media outlet straight from being a garage band that had never had the benefit of a global marketing push right?

What works for established acts does NOT work for people with no history of commercial promotion

just as long as we have established what a morally empty sand selfish person you are for freeloading off everyone else, thats fine.
I'm sure you would expect everyone else to really give a shit they day you get fined by the RIAA though...

Do you really think that people pirating music give a flying fuck whether or not the artist loses out?
You think they check the wording of the recording contract to ensure its an unfair deal before they click download?

people pirate music to get free stuff because they think they wont get caught and they dont give a fuck how it affects anyone else.
Any other justification is just after-the fact rationalisation bollocks.

wow.
show me the bit where anyone, let alone me suggested chopping the hands off of illegal downloaders.

Good luck

why not though?
I've bought every album dream theater has made, and I know full well I could torrent them instead.
Why should I give a fuck if they prosecute someone for taking for free what I handed over hard earned money for?
If I support the band enough to buy their stuff, why should I acre about people trying to rip the band off?

Are you not fussed if everyone in your town cheats on their income tax?

Its pretty clear your morality includes letting you help yourself to other peoples work whilst honest people enable you to do so, so to be honest, I think any claim you have to possessing a sense of morality is fucking delusional.

God help the next generation when they are forced to work for a living. Do you expect other people to do that for you too?

Maybe you should try actually paying for stuff you want?
just an idea.
Don't expect everyone else in society to be happy to subsidise your lifestyle. What makes you think you are entitled to stuff for free that honest people are paying for?

Tragic.

And its my opinion that someone who people who repeatedly, knowingly, constantly take other peoples hard work for free, again and again and again,with zero intention of ever paying for it, or giving a shit about the effects of what they do, deserve what they get.
pure and simple.

The libdems support freedom of speech and controls over the police. They don't support "give us TEH FREEEEE music!!!" like the pirate party does.
I wonder who has more members?

The pirate party is for kids who have yet to have a real job and learn the value of work. Anyone older than 15 who supports them is going through severe moral and mental gymnastics to justify their bit-torrent queue.