You guys are going to love this. The Lacrosse recharger came in, and did indeed include 4@ AA and 4@AAA batteries, but the batteries are Lacrosse Tech brand made in China WITH WHITE RINGS AROUND THE CATHODES!!!

Oh, those clever Chinese. They must have been reading this thread. The batteries are blue-and-yellow, the AAA batteries are labeled 2600 mAh and the AAA are 1000 mAh, and they were not pre-charged. Possibly they are the same as JR-Orion's. I'm going to try them out - what the hey - and I'll post the results here fyi.
I did finally find them at Wal-Mart, right where Chad said they'd be. WM has Duracells made in Japan, altho I can't see the color of the cathode wraps thru the packaging. I'm sure I'll be buying some of them too, as I need more than 8 batteries, but may wait until my stash of Duracell alkalines is used up (waste not, want not).
Incidentally, while at Gander Mountain looking for the Lacrosse re-charger, I spotted 9-LED flashlights for a mere $2 apiece! Actually, they came in a 2-pack for $4. I threw away the packaging before thinking to look for manufacturing details, and the flashlights have none on them. I am using them as backup caving lights and as illuminators for reading my Suunto clinometer. A friend bought a 2-pack also, but his turned out to be defective and crapped out after a single use each. Mine have worked properly for several caving trips so far. You get what you pay for, and we have been warned, so I don't depend on them, but so far they are working for me.