Patently absurd

If you take patented or generic high blood pressure medication, the graphic descriptions of how companies and individuals get fleeced by what is often called patent trolls may not be healthy.

We suggest one of our funny posts, such as the mystery of the 1.5 million missing Germans, or a leisurely stroll around the Disney website.

While German public radio and TV sent more reporters to the London Olympics in 2012 then there were German athletes in the competition, lean US public radio was actually doing work.

One of the shows out of the US, This American Life from WBEZ in Chicago, aired When Patents Attack...Part II this weekend. Part I in 2011 chronicled the saga of patent lawsuits in the United States and the biggest patent holding company Intellectual Ventures.

Web site GeekWire published a summary of the second part of the show yesterday, and we suggest you read this if you are not in the mood for the WBEZ podcast.

The podcast ends with an upbeat note about bills in the US legislature aimed at a reform of the broken patent system.

There is hope, says Ira Glass, the host of This American Life.

Hope means doubt, says an old friend of the K-landnews.

Hope is for losers, says TheEditor.