If licensed taxis offer genuine value (cost, training, insurance, courtesy, redress) then they will not go out of business. If they do not, they have no place and will not be missed.

My example are indeed "off", because there are no perfect examples. Some states in the USA are ok with Uber, while at the same time enforcing "certificate of need" laws. My argument is not about socialism and/or communism vs. capitalism, is is about socialism and/or communism vs, a free market. There are varying degrees of either and I postulate that acceptance of Uber is a good indicator of local opinion, and therefore of future prosperity.

Nobody is forcing you to use Uber. On the other hand, you are being forced to use licensed taxis. So much for freedom.

The acceptance or otherwise of a market disrupter like Uber is a good predictor of the future progress and well-being of a country or locality. If statists rule and the status quo becomes a reason unto itself, then expect a drift downwards. The results are not immediate, it is a slow process. First you have France, then Greece, then Cuba, and finally North Korea.

On the other hand, if you welcome change and are willing to let the buggy whip makers perish, then you are Silicon Valley, the USA, South Korea, and more recently Albania, China and India.

I hasten to add for nitpickers that my examples are not perfect - they illustrate a trend. An once again a reminder that there is a delay between cause and effect.

Anyway, on this basis France is finished.

The option to suppress sponsor offers is not available in my Java (7.45) control panel. So the option 1 on the site you provided seems to be discontinued. This only increases the dickish factor, or have I missed something?

Why is there no outcry about the under representation of girls for Selective Service?

https://www.sss.gov/fswho.htm

This!

Kinda like Catholic school?

"The push toward renewables has bumped up electricity prices — Californians pay around 14 cents per kilowatt hour across all sectors, compared to a little over 10 cents nationwide, according to 2015 figures from the U.S. Energy Information Agency."

So, price is 40% more. I wonder how much more it costs?

What is the price and cost of electricity now? Compared to states without "clean" energy?

To quote the Gipper. I am inclined to feel that Tim Cook understands the need for privacy and security, as a gay man. It would be nice to be able to take him at his word because he is sincere, but we cannot.

Without independent 3rd-party verification there can be no trust. Sorry Apple, I prefer to let the Chinese and Russians handle my data. They are equally scummy and bent on ruining the internet as the NSA, but at least they are not likely to rendition, dronestrike or merely civil forfeiture me.

This also applies to Google, Amazon, eBay, Verizon, Motorola, Intel, Cisco, Twitter, Facebook, Microsoft, any US ISP, etc., etc. and especially AT&T.

When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators.

P. J. O'Rourke

Well then, if all these employees have done nothing wrong, then they have nothing to hide, do they?

If they have indeed done something wrong, then they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Problem solved, you're welcome.

http://www.24af.af.mil/

Time to clean the Augean Stables.

What you say may be technically correct, but it is impossible for the Supreme Court to consider the case. Because that would first require someone to have "standing" and the secret FISA system does not permit that. So our Kafkaesque so-called adversarial system has negated any possibility of reining in these star chambers and we no longer have rule of law and a government of the people, by the people, for the people.

Our rulers are so far over to the dark side that reclaiming our freedoms will be more difficult that blowing up a death star.

Note well, Republicans and Democrats are only slight variations on this odious evil.