Media circus performs at French 'doomsday' village of Bugarach

Patrick Aventurier / Getty Images

Camera crews from all over the world continue to work Friday beyond 11:11 a.m., the time the Mayan apocalypse was supposed to occur in Bugarach village, France.

By Emma O'Shaughnessy, NBC News

BUGARACH, France ? The peacefulness of the Sals River Valley at the foothills of the Pyrenees in France belies its violent, enigmatic history. Once the place of ancient marauding Visigoths, its small villages were also home to the mystical Cathars and to the protectors of the cloth, the Knights Templar ? both eliminated by inquisitions and despotic rulers.

Roughly two years ago, the peace of this land was broken once again by strange rumors surfacing online about Bugarach Mountain, a rocky beacon presiding over the landscape.

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According to some reports, the peak of the mountain conceals an alien spaceship. Other sources say it is part of an alien space-time portal. The origins of the UFO stories have been difficult to trace, but have generated a response bordering on hysteria. Under normal circumstances, probably, such bizarre claims would have slunk away unnoticed or been relegated to the crazy bin. But, as they say, timing is everything.

For years, doomsayers warned that the end of a 5,125-year cycle in the Maya timekeeping system, which culminated on Dec. 21, would also signify the end of the world. In recent months, the UFO story has taken over the public imagination. Instead of being passed off as nonsense, Bugarach and its "resident UFO" became star European players in a global doomsday pantomime. And when it was announced that the regional authorities were calling in police and paramilitaries to prevent cultists from ascending the peak on doomsday, the village became the center of a media storm ? a different kind of pantomime altogether.

Driving into the village on the morning of Dec. 19, a number of elements met the eyes: telltale blue uniforms and police vans peppering the sides of the roads, smoke rising languidly from stone chimneys, the looming figure of Bugarach Mountain. Other sights included columns of SUVs and satellite trucks snaking their way along the country roads. Roving packs of groomed-yet-rugged types with press passes and hungry looks were busy claiming positions within cordoned-off areas in the village.

No sight of cultists, or for that matter, anything more otherworldly than a mass of waterproof jackets and the hardened boots of teams waiting for their scoop. Soggy fields bordered with caution tape were reserved for vehicles, and over the course of the day the fields became emblazoned with acronyms and company crests, resembling an army of knights from different royal houses, awaiting battle.

In advance of the Dec. 21 supposed Mayan apocalypse, rumor-mongers spread the word that a peak near Bugarach, a picturesque village in the French Pyrenees, would be the only place on Earth to escape destruction. When authorities announced they were calling in police and paramilitaries to prevent cultists from ascending the peak on doomsday, the village became the center of a media storm.

Optimism reigned for the two days leading up to the eschatological event. Reporters heartily greeted each other and rival camera crews were sportingly scoped out. At dinner, the catch phrase, "Where are you from?" echoed around as different teams sat side by side at long tables, rubbing elbows and even sharing a bit of rustic bread. A cacophony of tongues filled the room. Outside, the village remained strangely empty.

Dawn breaks on Dec. 21 in Bugarach. Where are all the hippies? A Dutch producer mutters: "Maybe they?ve already crossed through the star gate." Most likely, they?ve been chased away.

"Anyway, who the heck would want to ride to another planet with this bunch?" NBC News overhears a French cameraman saying to his sound technician as he looks around the square.

Guillaume Horcajuelo / EPA

An unidentified woman speaks to journalists in the village of Bugarach in southern France on Dec. 21.

The few locals venturing out in the open are either bemused and vague, or are capitalizing on all the attention to make some cash ? steaming croissants and chai tea are sold at a makeshift stall. The clientele? Dutch, French and Japanese TV crews. A young video artist from Switzerland takes a photo of a photographer taking a photo of reporters.

"This is very postmodern," he laughs. "This is the new story."

From time to time, rogue civilians break the fatigue that's setting in. A man arrives carrying a placard with the words, "The black stone of Bugarach." In an instant, he is mobbed by TV crews. Later, an angry resident shouts at the throng. Lenses swing and snap wildly.

Author Henry Lincoln accuses the media of creating and hyping the story.

"You?re doing it," he told NBC News. "If you would leave us in peace, nobody would be yelling about the end of the world and flying saucers coming to Bugarach."

Fair enough, this once sleepy town has been invaded. Neither by UFOs nor by extremists of any sort, but rather by dogged pursuers of what has proven to be an elusive story.

At what point does a reporter abandon a story? "Let?s get out of here. This is embarrassing," a correspondent states flatly.

Almost reluctantly, engines begin to start.

Guillaume Horcajuelo / EPA

Two men dressed in tin foil stand in the village as authorities block access to the peak of Bugarach in southern France on Dec. 21.

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/21/16070812-media-circus-performs-at-french-doomsday-village-of-bugarach?lite

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Dec 22, 2012 6:00am

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During the first holiday season with the U.S. military out of Iraq and winding down in Afghanistan, President Obama today wished a special homecoming for American troops in his weekly address.

?This weekend, parents are picking up their kids from college ?and making room for all that laundry they bring with them,? he said. ?Children are counting down the hours until the grandparents arrive, and uncles, aunts and cousins are all making their way to join the family and share in the holiday spirit.

?And this year,? he said, ?that?s especially true for some of our military families.?

The president and first lady Michelle Obama reflected on Americans reuniting with their loved ones, including those coming from abroad.

?After a decade of war, our heroes are coming home,? Obama said. ?And all across America, military families are reuniting.? So this week, let?s give thanks for our veterans and their families.? And let?s say a prayer for all our troops ? especially those in Afghanistan ? who are spending this holiday overseas, risking their lives to defend the freedoms we hold dear.?

PHOTOS: Military Heroes Return Home

Released after a tense week of ?fiscal cliff? negotiations, gun control discussions, and new staff appointments, the president made no mention of party politics in the video statement. Rather, he and the first lady asked for support for the Joining Forces program, which focuses on employment, charity and other opportunities for U.S. service members and their households.

?Our military families sacrifice so much on our behalf, and Barack and I believe that we should serve them as well as they serve this country,? the first lady said. ?That?s why Dr. Jill Biden and I started Joining Forces ? an effort to rally all Americans to honor and support our veterans and military families.?

President Obama reflected on the holiday season as it pertains to the Christian faith and volunteer efforts.

?Every year, we commit to love one another, to give of ourselves, to be our brother?s keeper, to be our sister?s keeper,? he said. ?But those ideas are not just part of our faith.? They?re part of all faiths.? And they unite us as Americans. ?

The two concluded by thanking national volunteers dedicated this season to those ?most in need,? including Americans picking up the pieces from Hurricane Sandy?and the grieving neighborhoods of? Newtown, Conn.

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Source: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/12/obamas-wish-special-holiday-homecoming-for-troops/

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Effects of climate change on birds worsened by housing development

Dec. 19, 2012 ? Although climate change may alter the distributions of many species, changes in land use may compound these effects. Now, a new study by PRBO Conservation Science (PRBO) researcher Dennis Jongsomjit and colleagues suggests that the effects of future housing development may be as great or greater than those of climate change for many bird species. In fact, some species projected to expand their distributions with climate change may actually lose ground when future development is brought into the picture.

The study, "Between a rock and a hard place: The impacts of climate change and housing development on breeding birds in California," appears online in the journal Landscape Ecology.

Conservationists have long known that changing land use and development may pose a major threat to wildlife through habitat loss and degradation. Yet, many recent studies have focused solely on how the changing climate will impact species. It is now clear that focusing on only one of these threats may underestimate the actual risk to species from future environmental changes.

"We know that climate changes will cause species to shift distributions, but where a species will be able to persist into the future is also determined by the availability of good habitat," said lead author Dennis Jongsomjit. "We wanted to examine both of these major threats together to get a better sense of the role each may play on bird populations. This information can help to improve management actions on the ground."

Using data collected at thousands of locations across California, the PRBO scientists project current and future statewide distributions for 64 bird species using climate models developed at UC Santa Cruz. These climate driven projections were combined with models of future housing growth to assess the relative impacts of each. The results varied among species and across habitats. Species associated with oak woodlands, for example, were projected to see up to 80% of their losses related to housing development. Species associated with coniferous forests, on the other hand, were projected to see most of their losses related to climate change, with relatively little impact from development.

"The places that are projected to undergo the greatest changes in climate aren't always the places with the greatest future development pressures, but where they coincide, species are caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place, with nowhere to go," said Dr. John Wiens, PRBO Chief Scientist.

The impacts of a changing climate on species are already being detected, and they are likely to increase in the future. The results of this study suggest that reducing the exposure of species to other stressors, such as development, may be an important strategy for adapting to climate change. To be effective, such actions will require the close cooperation of conservation practitioners and land-use planners, something that is in short supply today.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by PRBO Conservation Science, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Dennis Jongsomjit, Diana Stralberg, Thomas Gardali, Leonardo Salas, John Wiens. Between a rock and a hard place: the impacts of climate change and housing development on breeding birds in California. Landscape Ecology, 2012; DOI: 10.1007/s10980-012-9825-1

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/Mzt9h4HQJXM/121220101942.htm

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In 2012, Hospitals Expand Real Estate Footprints, from Brooklyn to ...

The city?s aging population, a drive for state-of-the-art facilities and strong hiring across the health care industry prompted unprecedented growth in leasing activity in the health care sector across the five boroughs in 2012.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Mt. Sinai, Montefiore Hospital and Inventa Health were among the dozens of hospitals and medical companies to announce bold new initiatives to expand their footprints in the city in 2012, and those developments are only a sign of what?s to come, brokers and analysts predict.

?The health care industry is the 800-pound gorilla in the house,? said Michael Berne, managing director of Lee & Associates? senior housing group. ?It?s a key topic for real estate folks in New York City, as traditional owners start to realize the potential in health care.?

In addition, both Ventas and Health Care Properties, health care REIT giants, announced major mergers and acquisitions in 2012. And health services 2012?s third-biggest job gainer in the city as of October, with 12,000 new jobs added, according to data from Eastern Consolidated.

The new activity comes with an undercurrent of great change. With the feds directing billions of aid towards the industry?incentives to implement health care information technology as it comes of age?and the aging population surging, health care?s effect on the real estate industry could be monumental, especially when looming economic uncertainty is resolved, Mr. Berne said.

The so-called ?fiscal cliff,? impending tax changes and imminent changes to Medicaid and Medicare through ?Obamacare? are among the greatest uncertainties that have prevented a much larger health care explosion.

?Once that economic uncertainty begins to dissipate, you?re going to see a massive amount of new development in urban and suburban areas,? Mr. Berne said. ?Psychologically it?s a killer, because a lot of skilled nursing depends on Medicaid and Medicare.?

Roughly 10,000 people turned 65 each day in 2012, and the population of Americans 65 and older is expected at least to double by 2030, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Traditional real estate companies are realizing the opportunities there, a lead taken by Alexander Scharf years ago at 305 West End Avenue?a former hotel that was converted to luxury senior housing?and a number of real estate companies in the city are on the verge of following suit.

?There are number of owners and developers in the metro area considering conversions of existing buildings into senior housing because of this aging population,? Mr. Berne said. ?We?ll see more and more of these projects in the short years to come.?

Many of the deals in 2012 also represented the necessity for health care companies and hospitals to upgrade facilities to match evolving medical technologies.

In September, the city reached an agreement with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the City University of New York for the construction of two new state-of-the-art science and medical facilities on Manhattan?s Upper East Side. The city agreed to sell a 66,000-square-foot site at 525 East 73rd Street for $215 million, what Mayor Bloomberg called ?easily one of the largest real estate transactions the city has ever been involved in.?

Sloan-Kettering will construct an up-to-750,000-square-foot cancer care facility, and CUNY Hunter College will build an up-to-336,000-square-foot Science and Health Professions building to upgrade its science and nursing facilities.

That project alone is expected to create more than 3,200 construction jobs and nearly 830 permanent jobs, according to an analysis conducted by the New York City Economic Development Corporation, capitalizing on the growth occurring in science, technology and research fields in New York.

In October, Montefiore Medical signed a 16-year lease with Simone Development for a new 280,000-square-foot building at Hutchinson Metro Center, slated for completion in the third quarter of 2014. Hutchinson Metro Center is a 42-acre campus with Class A office space, considered by some an evolution in the delivery of health care, in that it provides new space for multidisciplinary approaches that allow treatment without the need for hospitalization.

In April, a new division of Mount Sinai Hospital?Mount Sinai Brooklyn Heights Medical Group?took the 17th and 18th floors at 1 Pierrepont Plaza in Downtown Brooklyn, a total of 75,060 square feet in the 19-story building. Reportedly, the space had used by Goldman Sachs as a data center, illuminating the shift from a finance-driven economy to one that relies more on health care, tech and other industries.

In another play to accommodate the aging population, Mount Sinai also unveiled the city?s first emergency room dedicated for patients ages 65 and older in Harlem. It features skid-proof floors, extra handrails, dimmable lighting, ?diurnal skylights? that mimic natural lighting and noise-dampening curtains.

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Source: http://commercialobserver.com/2012/12/in-2012-hospitals-expand-from-brooklyn-to-harlem/

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MediFit Releases Holiday Corporate Health & Wellness Infographic

The busy holiday season can lead to poor food choices, a decrease in physical activity levels, and heightened stress levels. If not properly managed, these habits can lead to unwanted weight gain, decreased productivity, and other health issues.

Florham Park, N.J. (PRWEB) December 20, 2012

MediFit Corporate Services, Inc., a health and wellness management company releases a workplace wellness infographic detailing how employers and employees can promote a healthy work environment this holiday season. The busy holiday season can lead to poor food choices, a decrease in physical activity levels, and heightened stress levels. If not properly managed, these habits can lead to unwanted weight gain, decreased productivity, and other health issues.

The infographic outlines ongoing health issues at work that are heightened during the holiday season. As Americans spend at least a third of the day at work, the workplace can be a great place to promote healthy habits during the holiday season and all year round. Employers can work with an employee wellness vendor to design nutrition, fitness, and stress management programming for employee education and use. Employees can also implement simple techniques to make an effort to eat healthier, move more, and remain stress-free.

?To foster a productive, healthy work environment during the holidays, both employers and employees must make an effort,? says Catherine Kolbeck, Director of Marketing at MediFit. ?While employers can provide employee wellness resources and encourage participation, it is up to employees to utilize these programs and incorporate small changes to their days to reap the health benefits during this busy time of year.?

The holidays are a busy time to manage work, family, and health-related matters. Holiday employee wellness programs can be utilized by employees who have anywhere from five minutes to an hour. By implementing health programs for employee education and use, employers can see a boost in corporate health, morale, and productivity as the year draws to a close.

About MediFit

MediFit Corporate Services, Inc. (MediFit) is a privately-held fitness and wellness management and consulting company. MediFit designs and manages corporate and community fitness centers and wellness programs throughout the United States and in three countries. MediFit is headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, with additional corporate offices in Norwalk, Connecticut and New York, New York.

For more information, go to http://www.medifit.com. Follow us on twitter @medifitcorp and like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MediFitCorporateServices.

For more information, contact:

Catherine Kolbeck, Director of Marketing

973.593.9000

Catherine Kolbeck
MediFit Corporate Services, Inc
973.593.9000
Email Information

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/medifit-releases-holiday-corporate-health-wellness-infographic-202642371.html

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Help us pick the winner for our 'Bring a Reader to CES 2013' contest!

Dearest Reader,

Thank you for all the heartfelt replies to our previous letter -- it really meant a lot. As promised last time we chatted, we've done our bit by wading through hours of mostly great video to find just the right entrant to join us in Las Vegas for the next installment of the Consumer Electronics Show. We think we've found three great choices, so if it isn't being too forward, we'd like you to do your bit by pitching in with a single vote. You see, we're all at odds about which contestant should join us, so we want to combine your thoughts with ours and declare the contest won. Keep in mind, however, that none of the contestants deserve or need any grief for their efforts. If you feel you "could have done better" then next time, please do. Now follow on to see our favorite three and place your vote in the poll below. Cheerio!

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