Oh, I missed the Google News bit. That was the impersonal 'you' in my post, of course. I'm not your description of a news junky, I don't think, but I'm not you, either. Not sure where that leaves me. The world is a big, crazy place, and there's always something new to learn. Further, it's ridiculous to claim that world events have no effect on us. Some don't, most do, directly or indirectly.but I guess, like the article said, "I can't influence those things, and those things have no effect on me".
Most insane part of the article, I thought. You can't influence America's East Asia policy, no, but a) you can't influence anything if you don't know about it, and b) there are many parts of the news that citizens can and do influence every day. An informed populace is a dictator's worst nightmare for a reason. So I have no idea what he was talking about.