How about the situation where people use free roads to avoid expensive tolls, resulting in more congestion on the free roads, while the toll road remains underused? One might expect the toll to be lowered to balance this out, but it seems the tolls only go higher.

I wont question the statement about Walmart, but is Costco really that bad? I can't remember reading horror stories about them the way I have Walmart, so do you have some examples, or are you just lumping them in because they seem similar?

You can buy antibiotics for animals OTC: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ALFCIO/

Same stuff you'll get from a pharmacy with a prescription.

And watch the Soviets invade instead? Do you really think Japan would have been better off in the long run?

The article also mentions that in his scuffle with the bikers, he claimed they had BBQ'd and eaten a cat. Then was forced to admit he made it up. Why would you give him any credibility with regards to this supposed threat he received, when he has lied about his opposition in the past?

What does this have to do with martial arts? The first step to ensuring your own safety is to be aware of your surroundings. Letting someone get close enough to grab you while you're walking alone through an alley means you already failed at the most basic level of self defense.

But it doesn't actually work like that. LRAD emits a high frequency sound at 146db, which is loud and painful, but can easily be countered with standard hearing protection.

A cheap set of earplugs would seem like a simpler answer, and less likely to blow up in your face. You could even buy them in bulk and hand them out to your fellow protesters. Ones made for shooting are rated from 25-35db in noise reduction and can be had for under $1 each. Sure, it's not as cool as beaming microwaves, but I think it's a bit more practical.