but I don't think many taxi drivers would.

self-driving firetrucks with fire-detecting robots?

self-driving delivery with a robo-caller to let you know your pizza/laundry/package is waiting?

the 'failure' of the linux desktop is basically applications. libreoffice and linux gaming initiatives are the way to win that battle. making a prettier desktop is not.

or at least were trained to:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pigeon

so why not?

and no explanation in terms of self-awareness was used to explain it:

Citation:
https://www.sciencemag.org/content/212/4495/695.short

Full:
http://drrobertepstein.com/downloads/Epstein-Self_Awareness_in_the_Pigeon-Science-1981.pdf

So now robots can do what pigeons can do. Self-awareness is a hypothetical construct http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Skinner/Theories/ which may not be very useful.

since the typical strategy is (for example, against AQ):

1) disrupt leadership and
2) choke finances

having Assange under de facto house arrest should be having this effect.

If he spends the next 15 years in the Ecuadorian embassy, it's unlikely he'll be very effective. That will also be 15 years for the US to be able to lean on, overthrow, bribe or coerce the Ecuadorian government into turning him over. If Ecuador is willing to oppose the US by sheltering a high profile person like this, I'm guessing the CIA is already bank rolling the political and military opposition to the current government (e.g., Iran, Chile, Cuba, Afghanistan, etc). Which, even if it is not effective in regime change, will increase the cost of opposition to US desires for the regime in power (and so be a bargaining chip - turn over Assange and we'll make the guerrillas go away).

Also, the 'chilling effect' should be working: what is to stop new WL from popping up? Why aren't there a hundred or thousand other leak sites? By harassing assange they make sure to send a clear message to those who would follow his example that life will be unpleasant.

So it would seem that 'Operation WikiChill' is succeeding on some level.

If the people who want to use the service are - as part of their membership - required to defend the service, you have an ad-hoc army of letter responders (making the ISP happy).

oddly not the first time I read it, but the re-read really bummed me out.

built by one of their ex-employees.

Its in a case in their front office.

Now even I have a shot of getting a job there.