A group of 9/11 family members and survivors from the organization 9/11 Justice will hold a press conference vocalizing their objections to the Saudi Arabian-funded LIV Golf series and its tournament being held at the nearby Trump National Doral Golf Club on October 28-30.

The 9/11 family members will address their views and contentions, which include:

- The Saudi government's role in supporting the 9/11 terrorist attacks, including about recently declassified FBI investigative documents;
- The implications of Saudi efforts to "sportswash" its egregious past; 
- The willing complicity of professional golfers choosing to take Saudi payouts and look the other way on the country's reported human rights abuses and role in the worst terrorist attacks on American soil.

"As yet another Saudi-funded golf tournament takes place in America this week, Americans must understand that this LIV Golf series, hosted next at Trump Doral, is yet another attempt by the Kingdom to use the beloved game of golf to sportswash its abhorrent behavior and avoid accountability for the murder of my dad and thousands of others," said Brett Eagleson of 9/11 Justice. "The evidence of Saudi government officials' participation in the 9/11 attacks on America could not be clearer, and this event could not be more insulting. That's why we're speaking out and will continue to as the Saudis fund LIV Golf events in America."

Press Conference Details:

When: Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022, 9:00 a.m. ET

Where: Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, 3570 NW 74th Avenue, Miami, FL 33122

Who: Numerous 9/11 family members and survivors who have flown to Miami to express their outrage. Speakers at the press conference and those available for interviews include:

- Brett Eagleson, President of 9/11 Justice and son of John Bruce Eagleson, who was murdered in the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
- Tim Frolich, a 9/11 survivor who was on the 80th floor and was severely injured when the South Tower collapsed.
- Juliette Scauso, daughter of FDNY Hazmat Co. 1 Firefighter Dennis Scauso, who was murdered in the evacuation efforts of the South Tower.
- Dennis McGinley, whose older brother Danny was murdered in the collapse of the WTC South Tower.
 

RSVP: Media planning to attend the press conference should email [email protected] before 6:00 p.m. ET Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022.

Learn a Language Online with Lingoda

Lingoda, one of the top global online language schools, is celebrating International Internet Day on Oct. 29. Because the platform offers language courses online, students can learn English, Spanish, French, German and Business English at any time, from anywhere around the world. 

Online learning has become much more popular in the last decade, which was only accelerated by the Covid pandemic. In fact, since the year 2000, there has been a 900% increase in the e-learning industry. And even before the pandemic, the online education market was estimated to grow to $350 Billion by 2025.

One of the biggest advantages that online learning has to offer is flexibility and time. People can easily access their desired classes whenever suits them best without even having to leave the comfort of their own homes. In Lingoda's case, the online language school has language teachers based all around the world, which makes it possible to offer live online language courses 24/7 without having to sacrifice educational quality for convenience.

And, with so many people accessing the online language classes from around the world, one class with Lingoda can take you on an international trip without leaving home. In any given class, you may join students signing in from Tokyo, London or Berlin, while the instructor teaches the lesson from Ecuador.

"Having students and teachers from all around the world learning together only enhances our focus on teaching real-life language and cultural context," says Philippa Wentzel, Lingoda's Curriculum Team Lead. "With such a diverse range of voices in every class, and different teachers every lesson, you're effortlessly exposed to a wide range of backgrounds, speaking styles and authentic regional variations." 

Aside from the cultural advantages, being an online language school allows Lingoda to integrate feedback from students and teachers faster and much more easily than in an offline setting. On this International Internet Day, Lingoda is grateful that online learning allows it to offer language learners the best of both worlds: flexibility and quality.

ABOUT LINGODA

Lingoda is one of the top online language schools. Founded in Berlin, Germany in 2013, we provide convenient and accessible online language courses in German, English, Business English, French and Spanish to over 100,000 students worldwide. With almost 550,000 classes available per year and accessible 24/7, our mission is to build bridges around the world through language learning. 

Visit Lingoda.com to learn more.

Andrew Blomberg
Andrew Blomberg, Director of Group Sales, International Citizens Insurance

International Citizens Insurance (ICI) is excited to welcome experienced manager Stephanie Veiga as its new Director of Operations. The company has also promoted Andrew Blomberg to the newly created position of Director of Group Sales to lead its expansion into group international insurance. It has additionally expanded its sales staff by adding Sales Development Representative Helli Patel.

Stephanie Veiga is a seasoned manager who is experienced with change management and operational efficiency across multiple industries. "Stephanie has demonstrated value at organizations from Fortune 500 companies to small non-profits. She will use her extensive experience to implement policies and procedures that improve ICI's day-to-day operations," said Joe Cronin, President of ICI. Prior to joining ICI, Stephanie was a Corporate Project Manager at Elligo Health Research, a Deployment Lead at Nielsen and a consultant across many industries.

"In his nearly six years with ICI, Andrew Blomberg has made a huge impact on the positive direction of the business by leading efforts in consumer sales," says Cronin. Blomberg will now pioneer ICI's expansion into group international insurance sales in the newly created role of Director of Group Sales. "We see group business as a logical expansion to better serve our clients as well as a significant growth opportunity for our company. We are confident Andrew will help our organization reach its goals," Cronin said.

To support its individual business, ICI has hired Helli Patel in the key role of Sales Development Representative. Helli's work will expand ICI's ability to help more clients and increase its responsiveness. Helli graduated from Suffolk University in December 2021 and interned at the digital marketing organization Pepper Gang prior to joining ICI.

ICI provides and markets high-quality resources, tools, and advice for expatriates, global citizens, and international travelers. The team at ICI has deep experience in both international travel and the insurance industry. This experience allows them to simplify the challenging process of selecting international insurance for their clients and ensure they get the best plan for their needs.

About International Citizens Insurance

International Citizens Insurance (www.InternationalInsurance.com) is owned and operated by International Citizens Group, Inc. The company's mission is to educate consumers on the value of global medical, life, and travel insurance while providing a resource to research, compare, and purchase plans for their relocation abroad or international trip. The company offers expatriate plans, international health insurance, international group benefits, travel insurance and insurance for international employees. 
 

Andrew Blomberg
Andrew Blomberg, Director of Group Sales, International Citizens Insurance

Stephanie Veiga, Director of Operations, International Citizens Insurance
Stephanie Veiga, Director of Operations, International Citizens Insurance

Amazon Offsets Logo
Amazon Offsets Logo & Tagline

Amazon Offsets, a new non-profit organization, gives consumers the opportunity to help Amazon employees in need. Using a model based loosely on the concept of carbon offsets, Amazon shoppers can donate to Amazon Offsets, which, in turn, gives grants to Amazon employees in need. The idea for Amazon Offsets came to Founder Kirsten Burkhart when she found herself working from home while taking care of her bedridden husband. 

As Burkhart explains, "Like most people, I knew that I should shop at small, locally-owned businesses, but the reality was that I couldn't. I began to order everything from cat food to shampoo from Amazon, but the more I heard about the company's troublesome history of employee relations, the more conflicted I began to feel." 

Amazon Offsets, recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization, enables those shoppers to make voluntary, tax-deductible donations through the organization's website, which will then be used to make grants to Amazon employees facing financial difficulties.

Amazon Offsets, a private non-profit organization, is not affiliated with Amazon.com.

For more information, visit www.OffsetHarm.org.

NSK Laureate Gene Luen Yang
A photograph of NSK Laureate Gene Luen Yang

World Literature Today, the University of Oklahoma's award-winning magazine of international literature and culture, today announced Gene Luen Yang as the winner of the 2023 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature. He is the first graphic novelist to win the prestigious prize.

Yang's American Born Chinese was the first graphic novel to be nominated for a National Book Award and the first to win the American Library Association's Printz Award.

In 2013, Boxers & Saints, his two-volume graphic novel about the Boxer Rebellion, was nominated for a National Book Award and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. In 2016, the Library of Congress, Every Child a Reader and the Children's Book Council appointed Yang the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, and he was a three-time honoree for the 2021 Eisner Awards.

Trung Le Nguyen, an award-winning comics writer and artist, nominated Yang for the NSK Prize and chose his graphic novel American Born Chinese as the representative text for the jury to read.

"American Born Chinese deftly handles issues of immigration [and] internalized racism as if believing in the capacity for very young readers to synthesize disparate and complicated modes of written communication," Nguyen wrote in his nominating statement.

Kathy Neustadt, representing the Neustadt family, made the announcement during the annual Neustadt Lit Fest. The next lit fest will be given in Yang's honor in October 2023.

Highly respected within the literary community for its recognition of excellence, the NSK Prize was first given in 2003 to Mildred D. Taylor, author of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Additional past winners are Brian Doyle (2005), Katherine Paterson (2007), Vera B. Williams (2009), Virginia Euwer Wolff (2011), Naomi Shihab Nye (2013), Meshack Asare (2015), Marilyn Nelson (2017), Margarita Engle (2019) and Cynthia Leitich Smith (2021).

A blue-ribbon jury selects the finalists and the winner based solely on literary merit as well as the importance of the writer's contribution to children's and young adult literature. NSK winners are awarded $35,000, a silver medallion, and a certificate of recognition.

Verijet Logo&CarbonNeutral
Verijet logo with carbon neutral tag line.

At a ceremony held in New York City during UN's 77^th General Assembly and Climate Week's 14^th year, Verijet CEO Richard announced the execution of a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Dimensional Energy Inc. to purchase a minimum of 750,000 gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by 2025.

Kane said, "We are excited to leverage Dimensional's groundbreaking carbon dioxide (C0₂₎ to fuels technology in the creation of truly Sustainable Aviation Fuel made from captured atmospheric carbon dioxide (C0₂₎ and water cracked with clean energy sources. Dimensional's technology is transformational. We are thrilled to participate alongside Dimensional in decarbonizing aviation."

Jason Salfi, CEO of Dimensional Energy Inc., said, "Aviation as a form of transportation is forecast to grow by 50% over the next 20 years. I am excited to be working with Verijet to decarbonize aviation by offering the service of zero emissions air travel by pairing Dimensional's sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) with Verijet's high-performance jets."

About Verijet

A Florida-based private jet charter company, Verijet, is disrupting the market by offering consumers a reduced carbon footprint option while flying private, and at a lower price point. Verijet's mission is to transform aviation responsibly, be the best airline on and for the planet, and democratize private flight. Founded in late 2020, Verijet makes flying privately available to more people and places than ever before. Verijet is a technology company that has morphed into an air carrier - revolutionizing private aviation through the power of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and large-scale computing combined with the most innovative, advanced, and safest jets in the air today. Backed by an experienced team of aviation investors, professionals, and suppliers, Verijet has grown quickly and operates a fleet of 20 radically safe, quiet, and environmentally friendly Cirrus Aircraft SF50 Vision Jets in the U.S. Verijet recently completed the 5,000th revenue flight in just over 22 months of operation with a 100% perfect safety record. To learn more or to book a trip, call 833-Verijet or visit our website at www.verijet.com.

About Dimensional

Dimensional Energy envisions a world free from fossil fuel dependency. We use carbon dioxide emissions as a replacement for fossil carbon to make the fuels and products people use daily. Our team of subject matter experts comes from all over the world with a shared purpose of making the sustainable materials necessary for a truly circular economy and bringing about climate justice for all. Our technology can produce energy locally at a scale that can satisfy global demand without extracting resources or fomenting conflict. Learn more at www.dimensionalenergy.com.