Wednesday's Daily Brief: Arianna Interviews The Dalai Lama, Greece Sets Election Date, Debt Showdown Looms, Plus Valerie Jarrett, Mohamed A. El-Erian, Marlo Thomas

Wednesday, May 16, 2012 Arianna Huffington: My Conversation With the Dalai Lama: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality Arianna Huffington: Since 1987, the Dalai Lama has been organizing dialogues between scientists and Buddhist thinkers on a range of subjects, from physics and astronomy to empathy and compassion. "These are times," he says, "when destructive emotions like anger, fear and hatred are giving rise to devastating problems throughout the world. But I believe we have a valuable opportunity to make progress in dealing with them, through a collaboration between religion and science." When the two come together, the result is the cultivation of connection -- of empathy and compassion. At the heart of this approach is the Buddhist belief in the mutability of consciousness -- the idea that we can, through certain practices, change our inner being. "It means that the cultivation of loving-kindness can over a period diminish the force of hate in the mind," he explains. POLITICS Obama's 'Perfect Beast' vs. Romney's 'Hard Times' Pitch WORLD Greece Sets Date For Crucial Elections POLITICS Republicans Grip Up For Another Debt Showdown BUSINESS JPMorgan Unit Responsible For Huge Loss Played By Different Rules TECHNOLOGY 6 People Mark Zuckerberg Burned On His Way To The Top BLOG POSTS Valerie Jarrett: Just Plain Wrong: House Republican Bill Undermines the Violence Against Women Act A bill being considered in the House today seeks to roll back existing protection that keep women safe from the threat of violence. That is just plain wrong. Keeping women safe isn't about which political party you support -- it's about protecting basic human rights. Mohamed A. El-Erian: The Global Economy: What the Next Three Years Will Look Like Uncertainty, even of the unusual variety, does not -- and should not -- translate into investor paralysis. Dr. Peggy Drexler: Obama and the Bully: The Cornering of Mitt Romney To a generation of current and future voters, Barack Obama has deftly offered a choice: a respectful and inclusive voice of the future; versus a schoolyard tormenter aligned with the intolerant voices of the past. Not bad for a community organizer. Robert Reich: Romney Has Public and Private Morality Upside Down Mitt Romney doesn't want to regulate where regulation is necessary -- at the highest reaches of the economy. Yet he wants to regulate where regulation is least appropriate -- at the level of the individual, in bedrooms and other intimate spaces. Marlo Thomas: Fifty Shades of... Buzz! I couldn't get away from it. My girlfriends were talking about it; columnists were writing about it; Saturday Night Live was spoofing it. It was all I heard about.

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