<p><a href="http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=136474%5B/url%5D">http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=136474</a></p>
<p>President Bush's Address at U.S. Merchant Marine Academy to Be in Live Satellite/Web Simulcast on TV Worldwide's "Maritime TV" <a href="http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=136474%5B/url%5D">http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=136474</a></p>
<p>also: <a href="http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/tom-keating/voip/us-merchant-marine-academy-uses-voip-for-president-bush-commencement.asp%5B/url%5D">http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/tom-keating/voip/us-merchant-marine-academy-uses-voip-for-president-bush-commencement.asp</a></p>
<p>Commencement Speech to Academy Grads to Be Featured via Satellite and Webcast to Alumni, Public, Mariners and TV Outlets Worldwide at <a href="http://www.MaritimeTV.com%5B/url%5D">www.MaritimeTV.com</a>, 9:30 AM ET, June 19, Thanks to Industry Sponsors
CHANTILLY, VA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 06/16/2006 -- TV Worldwide, a web-based global TV network, announced today that in cooperation with the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, its Maritime TV Internet TV channel (<a href="http://www.MaritimeTV.com%5B/url%5D">www.MaritimeTV.com</a>) would produce a free live simulcast (via satellite and the Internet), of President Bush's commencement address to the Academy's class of 2006 at Kings Point, N.Y. The live satellite transmission and webcast will include the entire ceremony and is made possible by Maritime TV sponsors including the law firm of Baynard & Cartner, the American Maritime Officers, the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Alumni Foundation. </p>
<p>Maritime TV coverage of the event will begin at 9:30 AM ET on Monday, June 19, 2006 with a pre-ceremony program featuring representatives from the academy and the maritime industry in preparation for the ceremony which begins at 10 AM. The 202 members of the class of 2006, who have been trained as Merchant Marine and Naval Reserve officers, represent 34 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The class also includes six students from the Republic of Panama. </p>
<p>Viewers will be able to see the event live on-line at TV Worldwide's Maritime Industry Internet TV Channel, <a href="http://www.MaritimeTV.com%5B/url%5D">www.MaritimeTV.com</a>, where it will be archived for one year within 24 hours after the event. TV networks and local affiliates will be able to obtain the live feed via satellite at the coordinates listed below. The simulcast will also be featured at several overflow locations on the academy grounds. </p>
<p>"We are pleased to be able to produce this important simulcast featuring the President's address to the class of 2006," commented Dave Gardy, Chairman and CEO of TV Worldwide. "We expect participation from networks, affiliates and on-line viewers worldwide and we're provisioning our servers to meet the demand." </p>
<p>During the graduation ceremony, the academy superintendent, Vice Admiral Joseph D. Stewart, will present third mate licenses to 116 members of the class. Third assistant engineer licenses will go to 86 midshipmen. All graduates receive bachelor of science degrees. </p>
<p>Thirty-nine members of the 2006 class are expected to be commissioned for active duty in the Armed Services: 18 in the U.S. Navy: nine in the Marine Corps; seven in the Coast Guard; three in the Air Force; and two in the Army. </p>
<p>Twenty-eight women are part of this year's class, bringing the total number of academy female graduates to 552. </p>
<p>Commencement marks the end of a demanding academic and regimental training process for the class of 2006. Each midshipman, in addition to classroom studies, has spent a year at sea in a work-study program aboard various U.S.-flag merchant vessels. </p>
<p>The academy, which is operated by the Maritime Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation, was dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1943. Its college level, four-year program is fully accredited. More than 20,000 academy graduates have served the maritime industry and the Armed Forces both at sea and ashore. </p>
<p>People around the world can participate online through the Internet simulcast, accessible through <a href="http://www.tvworldwide.com%5B/url%5D">www.tvworldwide.com</a> and <a href="http://www.maritimetv.com%5B/url%5D">www.maritimetv.com</a>. Viewers should tune in online at 9:30 AM (ET) on June 19th and have the free Windows Media Player installed and tested prior to the event. Technical questions during the event can be directed to 703-961-9250, ext 223. Satellite Transponder Coordinates are as follows: SBS 6 / K15 Analog @ 74 degrees Downlink Freq: 12072 MHz (H) </p>
<p>About the United States Merchant Marine Academy and the American Maritime Industry </p>
<p>A glimpse at a map of the United States shows us that we are a maritime nation. To the east is the Atlantic Ocean; to the west, the Pacific; off our southern border, the Gulf of Mexico; in the north, the Great Lakes; and crisscrossing our states, great rivers like the Mississippi and other inland waterways. </p>
<p>Every hour of every day, ships of all types ply the waters in and around our nation. They leave our ports laden with U.S. goods bound for foreign markets, or arrive in our harbors with merchandise and materials for American consumers. </p>
<p>There are tankers traveling along the west coast with raw petroleum for our refineries; Great Lakes vessels loaded with iron ore, coal or other minerals for America's industry; huge containerships in Eastern ports, their box-like containers filled with manufactured goods; general cargo ships in the Gulf unloading pallets of coffee and crates of fruit; tugboats pushing and pulling barges carrying the Midwest's grain. </p>
<p>These kinds of vessels, owned by U.S. companies, registered and operated under the American flag, comprise the U.S. merchant marine. This fleet of highly productive ships is a major part of our system of commerce, helping guarantee our access to foreign markets for sale of our manufactured goods. </p>
<p>Moreover, in time of war or national emergency, the U.S. merchant marine becomes vital to national security as a "fourth arm of defense." Our merchant ships bear the brunt of delivering military supplies overseas to our forces and allies. The stark lessons of twentieth century conflict prove that a strong merchant marine is an essential part of American seapower. </p>
<p>The nation's economic and security needs met by the U.S. merchant marine are compelling. Today, the United States imports approximately 85 percent of some 77 strategic commodities critical to America's industry and defense. Although we, as a nation, account for only six percent of the world population, we purchase nearly a third of the world's output of raw materials. Ninety-nine percent of these materials are transported by merchant vessels. </p>
<p>A ship at sea does not operate in a vacuum. It depends on a framework of shoreside activities for its operations. This industry includes companies which own and manage the vessels; ports and terminals where cargo is handled; yards for ship repair; services like marine insurance underwriters, ship chartering firms, admiralty lawyers, engineering and research companies; and increasingly today, intermodal systems of trucks and railroads to distribute goods around the country. </p>
<p>But the most important element in a productive merchant fleet and a strong transportation industry is people -- men and women who are intelligent, dedicated, well-educated and competent. </p>
<p>The purpose of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy is to ensure that such people are available to the nation as shipboard officers and as leaders in the transportation field who will meet the challenges of the present and the future. </p>
<p>The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy is privileged among the nation's five federal academies to be the only institution authorized to carry a battle standard as part of its color guard. The proud and colorful battle standard perpetuates the memory of the 142 Academy cadet/midshipmen who were casualties of World War II. During times of war, members of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard engage in combat, but the students at their respective service academies do not. However, the students of the USMMA receive an integral part of their training at sea, and in the Second World War often found their lives in peril as they sailed through enemy-controlled waters or unloaded precious cargo in overseas combat areas. </p>
<p>The Academy is operated by the Maritime Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. </p>
<p>About TV Worldwide </p>
<p>As a leading global Internet broadcasting and streaming media company, TV Worldwide (<a href="http://www.tvworldwide.com%5B/url%5D">www.tvworldwide.com</a>) is developing a network of video channels that is an affiliation of community-based Internet television stations such as Maritime TV, each underwritten by a strategic partner, "aimcasting(SM)" to targeted demographic audiences worldwide. TVWorldwide.com works with strategic partners to develop the latest in live and archived state-of-the art video streaming content applications. TVWorldwide.com was recently named one of the streaming video industry's "Hottest Streaming Companies" by Streaming Magazine, <a href="http://www.streamingmagazine.com%5B/url%5D">www.streamingmagazine.com</a>, and CEO Dave Gardy was honored by the magazine as one of the 50 Most Influential People in Streaming Media. Mr. Gardy currently serves as President of the International Webcasting Association. He is a 1980 graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.</p>