If you want to buy something out of the mainstream for home, your best bet is a trip to Fayetteville. The hipsters there make it worthwhile for stores there to stock interesting beers. Try 'Liquor Mart' or 'Liquor World' (really generic names I know, but good selections). The market doesn't...
+1 to mrmalty.com especially if it's a slurry. (use the yeast pitching rate calculator)
If it's dry, maybe weigh it... use equivalent wieghts to dry yeast packages. If you want to get specific, I think Brewing Classic Styles also has recommendations for dry yeast pitching rates by...
Yes, that is why Danstar has issued recalls of this yeast previously. It is no conspiracy if the company itself knows things are wrong.
People have reported perforations in the packets where the lot# and date were stamped. There are a number of photographs here if you search for them...