Cookies vs Flash For Client Side Storage

I have mixed thoughts regarding the dispute between using cookies to store client side data [session vars, userid's, affiliate codes, etc...] versus using cookies to store the data. I don't like the fact that using flash requires a user have javascript enabled. If you compare the amount of traffic on a website using a log file based analytics package versus a javascript based analytics package, you'll see an average of 25 percent less visitors with the js version. That's because many people either don't have js enabled or the third party sites serving the js code momentarily crapped out. Granted, what we're talking about here with using flash [requires js] isn't the same as having that js called from a remote server, it still will not account for those that have js turned off. And is the number that have js turned off that much smaller than those that have cookies turned off or their cookies cleaned? I think that's the real question Jupiter needs to answer here. I asked Allaire for his thoughts on the cookie v flash situation brought up by What do you guys Marketing Shift blog