World No Tobacco Day, May 31 - perhaps the most important day on this planet is celebrated across the globe not with stinking breath but with fresh air breath. Let's make a resolve today not to smoke and save a fortune.
Please spread the message across the globe:
Be Cool - Don't Be a Smoking Fool.
Be smart don't start.
Breathe healthily, live happily.
Cancer cures smoking.
Chicks really dig pre-cancerous lungs.
Cigarettes burn holes in your pocket.
Cough twice for Philip Morris.
Did you know your mouth is on fire?
Don't be a butthead. Smoking kills.
Kissing a smoker is like licking an ashtray.
HAPPY NO TOBACCO DAY...START A NEW DAY FROM TODAY.
Though Speak Asia has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently, but it's stupendous success has given many individuals the idea to start their own survey companies. In fact in the last month only, so many clone survey companies have emerged, like ipanelonline.com, indianpaidsurvey.com, and in.toluna.com to name a few, and some even offering like cracked code for Speak Asia panel membership so that you can become a Speak Asia panel member for free.
In fact, I will give you some comments that have been posted on my earlier blogs on Speak Asia that will give you some idea about how these clone companies are trying to take advantage of the famous (or infamous) Speak Asia now. Just have a look at a couple of comments below.
"Why invest such huge amount, when you can join free and earn bigger amount of money. Earn Rs.10, 000 minimum per month doing online survey. No money to invest. An international market research company dedicated to providing their clients with the consumer information. Company having registered office at Singapore .Simply register to become a member & log in to your a/c and earns Rs.300 – 400 daily. The data that is collected through these surveys provides the companies with information on buying trends, consumer preferences and opinions regarding to improvements or new innovations of products and services. http://in.ipanelonline.com/register.html?inviter_id=xxxxx"
Or the other one, which is even more SENSATIONAL "Join Speak Asia free. This is the cracked code friends. Just copy this link in your browser, http://in.ipanelonline.com/register.html?inviter_id=xxx then register. After registration, you will be automatically directed as a valid member of Speak Asia. (Note: within 1 minute of your registration conformation of ipanel online just press ctrl +2598+speakasia , you will be automatically directed as a valid member of Speak Asia. )
It seems like ipanelonline is trying to take full advantage of "Behti Ganga Mein Hath Dho Lo" or "Make Hay While The Sun Shines" and one can't blame them really also because after all everyone wants to be successful.
THE MOST INTEREST|ING COMMENT, "As for star news .. well they just launched there new crap called Star panel .. same survey thing .. where you get no survey right now .. why? because Speak Asia never disclosed the secret about their client , otherwise they would have stolen that as well."
So, even Star News wants to ride on the success of Speak Asia which they themselves tried to finish off. That will raise many eyebrows...wat say guys.
This may bring a few smiles to the lakhs of proud Speak Asians after a soothing clarification came from Speak Asian CEO that all is not that bad with them. After the reported news about United Overseas Bank (UOB) of Singapore freezing the bank accounts of Speak Asia, the Website official clarified on Friday that their account in Singapore has not been frozen but that it is only moving its company account to another bank. "We are approaching and evaluating various other Banks in Singapore from where we will soon be able to disburse the payments to all panelists," Speak Asia's India CEO Manoj Kumar said. He also emphasized that, "Also, we would like to reassure that the panelists’ money is safe! Towards this, we are trying to open an escrow account in order to further protect their interests."
So, what's next now? Well, the panelists have no other options but to wait with bated breaths when their next payment comes. It might be too soon or never. But, still will give them a glimmer of hope that all is not gone and Speak Asia is not dying. They are hoping that it will come out stronger and bigger, and I give them my best wishes that they get their money back.
The only thing that bemuses me is that if there was nothing right with their operational method and they have publicly apologized for that as well as accepted that they are not a survey company but rather one of the Ponzi company which works on the same age-old method, get money from the member, ask the member to bring more members and thus more money, then pay back the old member a fraction of money from the new members, and let it go as long as the money is there or the pyramid is not completed, why they chose to stay afloat after all the media revelations.
I am sure that they had earned already enough money from the 20 lakh panelists and they had all the time in the world after the first telecast of Star News regarding Speak Asia supposed scam to go away and hide in any part of the globe, but instead they chose to fight back and clarify their sides. So, that seems a good thing from the panelists' point of view that Speak Asia still wants to go on and I think as long as they can manage to go on, I think they will give their member some money back so at least one can still get their investment back if not profit for some time.
It seems the beautiful dreams of lakhs of Indians are going to be shattered very soon. All the major banks have sealed the Speak Asia account and thus for the past 10 days no payment is being made to any panel members. Speak Asia official have put their hands up saying that their account is frozen and so they cannot pay their members for some days (or never!!! Nobody knows). In fact, most surprisingly, even the spokesmen of Speak Asia don't even know who their owner is or where this whooping profit of 15 crores per day is going.
Now, this is going to put around 20 lakhs Proud Speak Asians (most of them Indians) in a total doom. Who would have thought a company that promised to quadruple your small investment of 11,000 rupees within 1 year will die such an immature death. Thanks to the investigative journalism by the leading Indian news channel, Star News, the Speak Asia panel members have now started blaming Star News for the Speak Asia's failure and thus losing their money.
So, what was this Speak Asia really all about? A survey company, an MLM company, a Ponzi company, or just a company made to loot you. Whatever it is, one thing is there that it did pay their members for 1 month and in fact many of them got their return back, but just in the last 15 days with all those news channels suspecting the modus operandi of Speak Asia, 20 lakh people's future is doomed forever.
Well, now the verdict is in people's court. You decide and express your voice who is responsible for Speak Asia's death: Star News, Speak Asia themselves, Indian government, or innocent public.
The much-hyped Google Street View Car is planning to move across Namma Bangaluru to collect photographs of the prime roads of Bangalore and then uploading it on Google Maps and Google Earth to give us some breathtaking panoramic views of the beautiful Bangalore.
According to an statement made by Google officials, "They will begin imagery collection in Bangalore for the Street View feature in Google Maps. Google cars and trikes will today begin driving and taking street level photographs of public locations around the city. The images will be made available at a later date in Street View on Google Maps."
Now, that sounds really cool. But do you really want to know how Google has been able to show us such great detailed images? This is how it works. Google Street View displays images taken from a fleet of specially adapted cars. Areas not accessible by car, like pedestrian areas, narrow streets, alleys, and ski resorts, are sometimes covered by Google Trikes (tricycles) or a snowmobile. On each of these vehicles, there are 9 directional cameras for 360-degree views at a height of about 8.2 feet, or 2.5 meters, GPS units for positioning, and 3 laser range scanners for the measuring of up to 50 meters 180 degrees in the front of the vehicle. There are also 3G/GSM/Wi-Fi antennas for scanning 3G/GSM and Wi-Fi hotspots.
Those terms really sound super-cool high-tech stuff, but I really doubt that those sophisticated Google cars will be able to handle the Super Bangalorean roads with those amazing bumper to bumper traffic right across Hosur Road to Majestic to Mysore Road junction. If those sophisticated cars get lost in Bangalore traffic, I don't know how Google Earth or Google Maps are going to find them in the famous Bangloarean traffic. What says guys???
The 24 brain children of mathematics wizard Anand Kumar from Patna out of the 30 have once again qualified for IIT-JEE examination this year, thus taking their toll to 234 out of 270 in the last nine years. Now, this is something that every Indian (not only Bihari) should be proud of because such a near perfect result in the country's toughest entrance exam really means a lot.
In fact, the entire world today knows about Super-30 magnanimous yet philanthropic approach to search 30 poor students each year, then groom them for 1 year, without any tuition fee or coaching fee, without any government aid, still nurturing and grooming those 30 students for 1 year to make them able to crack the most revered entrance exam in India...wow!!! No words can praise this genius Anand Kumar's efforts and goodwill.
Yes, we all are proud to be Bihari and Indian...Jai Bihar.
Two of the largest survey companies targeted together in less than two weeks. One of course a high-profile survey company with offices in Singapore, ads during prime time of IPL matches, and projecting themselves as the biggest saviors of Indian youth; the other projecting themselves as a very low-profile but still considered to be one of the biggest survey companies with office in little known Mirzapur. According to Star News, the owners are trying to run away, their head office is closed, and they are not paying their panelists any money.
Well, frankly speaking, though I heard about Speak Asia before, but I had never head of this Ram Survey which also became so famous after Star News concerted effort to expose themselves. Well, it helped both. The TRP ratings of Star News suddenly started to sore up after a series of survey-exposing news and of course now each individual knows about Speak Asia and Ram Survey.
For me, it seems like Star News is working with hand in gloves with these little known Internet players to bring out sensational news about these survey companies and thus popularize them among public and in the process boosting up their TRP rating as well, and this has definitely seemed to have worked wonders for both of them.
I picked up the declaration by Ram Survey about Star News' reported news exposure. Though the denial is there but still in a very mild tone. "Dear Associates, Another story by Star News on online fraud. You all know this is just a story, a fake one. You all need to understand that why only Star News is coming with such reports. Stop for a minute and think, they are coming with similar concept. This is just an effort by them to tarnish our image and so they can get the benefit out of it. Kindly do not pay attention to such news, videos and news coverage. We ensure you that whatever is being shown has no element of truth in it. We are very well and strongly placed which is evident by growing number of associates day by day. Long live you and Ramsurvey."
Now, if one look at denial, you will see that they are not vehemently rejecting Star News claim but just encouraging their panelists in a very mild manner. This is what has made me suspicious about Star News real intentions behind this investigative journalism. Because, even in Speak Asia case, they just blurted out their income profile that they are making about Rs. 15 crores, but they never could point out a finger if they are doing it illegally.
The other thing worth noting here is the Star News has also started their own survey portal called Star Panel. Now, that really is something that needs to be taken into consideration as well.
So, guys give this a serious thinking and come out with what you think about it.
Remember the Sharjah Cup 1986 final when Javed Miandad hit poor Chetan Sharma for a six when six was needed of the last ball to win. Well, who can forget that match. Just have a glimpse of that famous last over at Sharjah.
And, whoever watched yesterday's thrill playoff between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders where 21 runs were needed of the last six ball and 4 runs needed to win in the last ball, and the history repeated. Only, this time Miandad's role was played by Ambati Rayudu and poor Chetan Sharma's role was aptly played by the Smiling Assassin Balaji. Just take a look at the last over.
Just go through these smart one liners, I think it will help you a lot.
Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich.
Children: You spend the first 2 years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next 16 years telling them to sit down and shut-up.
Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly, and for the same reason.
Having sex is like playing bridge. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand.
Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.
I always take life with a grain of salt, ...plus a slice of lemon, ...and a shot of tequila.
Virginity is like a soap bubble, one prick and it is gone.
If you are supposed to learn from your mistakes, why do some people have more than one child.
Sex is not the answer. Sex is the question. "Yes" is the answer.
For the last one week, the little known survey-driven company is hogging limelight thanks to Star News investigative journalism targeted on this so-called survey-driven MLM company whose only intention is to make money and disappear in the darkness of midnight. Though the company was begun in 2006 according to their ACRA certificate issued by the Government of Singapore, they started becoming big in the last couple of months thanks to a spurt in their online membership by virtue of a very smart advertising campaign done in the middle of IPL Season IV where they projected themselves as a company designed to bring all the Indian families on the path of happiness.
But, the leading news media Star News suddenly came up with something that really spoiled the party of the Proud Speak Asians. They started investigating the modus operandi of the company and came up with such startling facts that put even the government agencies like RBI, SEBI, Ministry of Corporate Affairs on great alert to tighten their grip on the website portal which is supposedly earning around Rs. 15 crores per day in pure profit (astounding figures!!!) which might even give a reason to the online giants like Google and Facebook to blink their eyes.
A membership of Rs. 11,000 and still around 35,000 new membership per day that by no means is a small feet to achieve, but Speak Asia has been doing this continuously for the last couple of months and that too without any great corporate team. One must appreciate the brain behind this website (though no one for sure knows the real person behind this). One Mr. Manoj Kumar has done some press conferences projecting himself as the CEO of Speak Asia, but we are not still sure if he is the one behind all this great online tamasha.
In fact, the company has targeted solely the Indian customers through some franchisee network to sell their membership, they have smartly kept themselves out completely from Indian legal purview by setting up a small 2-room office in Singapore with 4-5 employees doing desk work who really have no authority about the modus operandi of Speak Asia. So, no one even knows where all these crores of rupees is being stacked up.
I think it's high time the proud Speak Asians come up and try to take the dust off this strange website so at least one should know who is the one person who is getting all those crores of rupees.
With the world waiting with bated breaths, the greatest South Indian Super Star and perhaps one of the biggest Super Star in Asia (maybe second only to Jackie Chan), the reports of Rajini Sir being hospitalized in Chennai and getting minor chest surgery done has definitely brought the huge South Indian film industry to a standstill worrying about their immortal super star who for many Internet users across the globe is known as " Rajinikanth's email is gmail@rajinikanth.com" and also like "When Rajinikanth plays Monopoly, it affects the actual world economy."
It really sounds bizarre about hearing the man getting hospitalized who is being said to be, " Rajinikanth is a weapon created by God to use on doomsday to end the world." We definitely pray to God that the God of South Indian Cinema get well soon, otherwise these timeless tales of Rajnikanth will lose its real vigor as some of them are mentioned below:
Rajinikanth proves Newton wrong all the time. Every time he performs an action, he simply eliminates anything and everything that can provide the reaction.
Once a cobra bit Rajinikanth’ leg. After five days of excruciating pain, the cobra died.
Rajinikanth’s every step creates a mini whirlwind. Hurricane Katrina was the result of a morning jog
When Rajnikanth is asked to kill some one he doesn’t know, he shoots the bullet and directs it the day he finds out.
Rajinikant can give pain to Painkillers and headache to Anacin.
Rajinikanth collects Honey from his private Moon - HoneyMoon.
Rajinikanth got smallpox when he was a kid. As a result, smallpox is now eradicated.
Kudos to this great man who single-handedly revolutionized the South Indian Cinema, the aura which even the magician Kamal Hassan could also never create. We all wish him a speedy recovery very soon to come out of hospital in his trademark burning the cigarette with a gun and kissing his one-third of age Deepika Padukone on the lips in Rana very soon.
According to the latest salvo from Star News, the daily profit earned by Speak Asia is Rs. 15 Crores!!! Now, that's bound to sweep you off your feet. I don't think even the biggest corporate houses in India can claim of such whooping profit per day.
How this figures out???
Well, let's do some calculations.
Speak Asia membership fee per member = Rs. 11,000.
Daily Number of Membership = 35,000
Per Day Income = 11,000 x 35,000 = Rs. 38 crores 50 lakhs.
Per Day Spending plus Return to Members (Rs. 4000 per month) = Rs. 23 crores 50 lakhs.
Per Day Profit = Rs. 15 crores
Now, that is some figure to talk about. Well, I think there is nothing wrong with Speak Asia as long as they are paying out to the members, which I think they can continue to afford to give back for another year or two and by that time one would have got around 1 lakh rupees back by the end of two years for an investment of Rs. 11,000. So, for the short term (two years), I think there is nothing wrong with the company modus operandi and also from the investors' point of view.
Things might start taking a downturn when the membership values start trending down and the payback trends start going up, but that is a story after maybe 2 years.
So, the company is not doing anything bad for the investors at least for the next two years and in fact Star News is also saying that what will happen after two years. But, why to bother for after two years when you when gets back his investment back in less than three months and then starts getting profit for the next 21 months. I think, if we think from that angle, there is nothing wrong with the Speak Asia modus operandi. It works on the same Ponzi model that we have seen for the last 30 years if it is earning crores but still giving back the consumers their return, let them do. What's wrong with it???
Remember the Coke versus Pepsi face off a few years back where both tried to bring down each other by mocking their ads. Well, that was one of the most enjoyable corporate rivalry being seen on TV and was remembered for long, long time that how giving a humorous twist to the corporate rivalry can bring smile on the viewers' face.
But, Google versus Facebook, the two giants of Internet. Facebook being perhaps the only company to give serious challenge to the invincible giant Google after not only making serious inroads into Google social networking flagship Orkut but in fact overtaking in the last year. So, that was a feet achieved by Facebook which the world appreciated with clapping hands.
But, now the ugly turn to the rivalry events, where news broke out about Facebook hiring PR firms to try to plant stories severely criticizing Google's privacy policy. In fact, they made some incredible offer to some leading bloggers to blog against Google and that was the move that serious backfired Facebook where a blogger not only declined the offer but went public revealing Facebook's sheepish intentions against the number one Internet player in the world and now Facebook has to get itself involved into some serious face-saving tricks.
Well, everybody wants to earn the top slot and so whatever Facebook did may be termed unethical but certainly not unprofessional and this debate between ethics and professionalism has been going since the advent of the mankind, but we would appreciate if Facebook brings some novel inventions to their website to increase its market share rather than taking the devilish shortcut routes.
The GAYLEvanising tornado is sweeping all the IPL teams off their feet but the GAYLEa effect that is haunting the most to anyone is the King Khan himself. Remember the IPL auction in February of this year when no team was willing to buy the tall Jamaican more because of the KKR's Flop Show in the last three editions of IPL, but his late entry in Challengers through replacement not only brought back the RCB back into reckoning but now they are the first team to seal a place in the last four of the IPL Season 4.
The GAYLE Effect started giving sleepless night to King Khan in his very first entry at IPL Season 4 when he singlehandedly demolished the KKR by scoring a century and taking the match away from Kolkata in a whisker and since then there is no looking. Seven wins on a trot since the Sleeping Giant joined RCB demolishing Shahrukh's men in his very first match and then again totally decimating the likes of Brett Lee and taking the match from the Kolkata in the very first two overs.
This Sleeping Giant is now giving sleepless nights to Shahrukh who was seen scratching his head yesterday seeing his old KKR opener destroying KKR like a pack of cards. It seems like the BIG MAN is haunting the King Khan like every seconds of his days and he must be ruing himself for letting him go the Bangalore.
Invest 11,000 rupess for a year and get back 52,000 rupees that means about 500% return in one year...now that sounds grea.......t!!! Isn't it?
But, how??? The big question is how???
Their answer do survey and take home a fortune.
Now, that's easier said than done. I can tell you by my own experience. I have spent years trying to make a forturne by doing surveys and clicking ads and doing referral schemes. But, in return, I have not been able to make even a couple of thousand bucks.
Then how come those Speak Asians are so proud of this great Singaporean company which has come from nowhere and now has become the household name thanks to an investigative exposure by the leading daily news channe Star News.
I would like to invite all those Proud Speak Asians to come in front and share their fortune-making stories so that would give me some idea how to make money doing suveys but first investin 11,000 rupees first. If they are really proud being Speak Asian, we all are eagerly waiting to hear their stories.
Yesterday, one of the leading Indian news channel Star News broke out the story the about Speak Asia Online, a relatively new survey-driven company that promises you a nice weekly income by just doing their surveys. Now, that's not certainly a new concept to million of Internet users who have been doing this for years, but why Star News only chose to investigate Speak Asia Online. There are thousands of survey companies which pay you either in terms of real money or points which one can be redeemed for some gift items like Survey Scout and other leading companies.
So, what's so special about Speak Asia that a leading news channel felt the need to investigate the real truth behind the upcoming survey company whose sole target is to make as much inroads into Indian Internet users as they can and in fact they have. In the last couple of months, since they started showing their ads during IPL prime team, they have really come strong on the Internet, so their India-centric target might have lured Star News to go behind them.
What the Star News has revealed that ICICI Bank top brass has declined giving any assignments to Speak Asia to do any surveys on their part, which Speak Asia has claimed to be one of their clients. Another thing ING Vysya Bank has also declined any relationship with Speak Asia, while they claimed the ING Vysya to be their official bank for Indian customers. The third thing they have specifically pointed out is that despite their largest consumer base in India, Speak Asia does not have a single office in India where you can approach them in case of any grivance redressal. The only contact point for Indian customer is two Delhi phone numbers as mentioned on the company website:
Sales Support Hotline For India
Phone No.: 91-11-46488000 / 91-11-46170511
Open from 10 am - 6 pm (IST) on all days
Except National & Public holidays
Now, if you are the lucky one, then maybe you can get your phone call received once in a blue moon, otherwise, most of the time, you will be just keep trying your luck for days to weeks.
In fact, the whole concept of Speak Asia is one of the MLM companies where you have to pay them a hefty sum initially to register before you will start getting paid. Just take a look at their registration plan below:
Apply for a test and interview for selection as a panelist to test.support@speakasiaonline.com . You will be called for a two hour written test on English language, comprehension and general knowledge followed by a personal interview. If selected, you will be given a subscription code for registration, without any cost. The current test centers are in Mumbai (India) and Singapore.The examination fee is $60.
To register as a Standard Panelist you may purchase subscription for 26 issues of Online Surveys Today E-bulletin for $120.
To register as a Premium Panelist you may purchase subscription for 52 issues of Online Surveys Today E-bulletin for $220.
So, you need to invest a minimum of $180 before being able to earn a single penny.
Most of the so-called Work From Home comapanies work on the same funda that is first collect money from the innocent customers, then increase your customer base to a million, and in return the company accumulates more than $100 million, then in return send back the customers a few penny each like $5 to 10 for some time, so that you can get more customers for them in the coming months and thus further increasing their capital base to even $500 million.
Now is the time to run away from market and what better time than this when Star News has exposed themselves, SEBI has tightened its grip on the company, and so Speak Asia has got the best time to disappear from the Internet in the next couple of months citing legal proceedings and other genuine reasons.
Now, that is one smart work to earn millions in a couple of months and then wait for some investigative media agency to go after you so that you get a genuine reason to disappear from the Internet. What say guys!!!
Remember the most talked-about Kingfisher calender girl who just shot to fame after announing that she will strip off if Indian team wins World Cup...well the entire world wanted to see her naked but Indian team lifted the World Cup but the svelte model went into hiding after that leaving millions of views depressed for not being able to see a hot model's full bod in nude in the stadium.
Now, King Khan has taken a cue from the model and announced that he would take his shirt off on the day his team Kolkata Knight Riders qualifies for the final of the Indian Premier League 2011 (IPL 2011) or he is trying to get into the footstep of his ex-captain Sourav Ganguli's famous shirt-off ecstasy in Lord's 2002 or perhaps he wants to show to his arch rival Salman Khan who takes off his shirts at the blink of an eye.
Well, whatever be the reason, but I am not sure if anybody is interested in seeing King Khan's 6 pack again after Dard-e-Disco a few years back. Had he convinced Ms. Pandey at least to take her shirt off that would have certainly revived the fortunes of KKR like the Indian team, it would have been a much better strategy for King Khan. After all, what motivats anyone better than a hot bod waiting to rip off at a DLF maximum.
King Khan, if you really want Yousuf Pathan to start his blitzkrieg, employ Ms. Pandey to do the needful.
This is the most interesting question doing rounds today if per President Obama, the entire operation was done by US Army and CIA alone deep inside Pakistan in the vicinity of Pakistani capital, Islamabad. Do you think it is possible. Express your opinion.
"Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.
It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history. The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory -- hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky; the Twin Towers collapsing to the ground; black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon; the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction.
And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world. The empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child’s embrace. Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts.
On September 11, 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together. We offered our neighbors a hand, and we offered the wounded our blood. We reaffirmed our ties to each other, and our love of community and country. On that day, no matter where we came from, what God we prayed to, or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family.
We were also united in our resolve to protect our nation and to bring those who committed this vicious attack to justice. We quickly learned that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by al Qaeda -- an organization headed by Osama bin Laden, which had openly declared war on the United States and was committed to killing innocents in our country and around the globe. And so we went to war against al Qaeda to protect our citizens, our friends, and our allies.
Over the last 10 years, thanks to the tireless and heroic work of our military and our counterterrorism professionals, we’ve made great strides in that effort. We’ve disrupted terrorist attacks and strengthened our homeland defense. In Afghanistan, we removed the Taliban government, which had given bin Laden and al Qaeda safe haven and support. And around the globe, we worked with our friends and allies to capture or kill scores of al Qaeda terrorists, including several who were a part of the 9/11 plot.
Yet Osama bin Laden avoided capture and escaped across the Afghan border into Pakistan. Meanwhile, al Qaeda continued to operate from along that border and operate through its affiliates across the world.
And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network.
Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan. And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.
Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.
For over two decades, bin Laden has been al Qaeda’s leader and symbol, and has continued to plot attacks against our country and our friends and allies. The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat al Qaeda.
Yet his death does not mark the end of our effort. There’s no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must –- and we will -- remain vigilant at home and abroad.
As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not –- and never will be -– at war with Islam. I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.
Over the years, I’ve repeatedly made clear that we would take action within Pakistan if we knew where bin Laden was. That is what we’ve done. But it’s important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding. Indeed, bin Laden had declared war against Pakistan as well, and ordered attacks against the Pakistani people.
Tonight, I called President Zardari, and my team has also spoken with their Pakistani counterparts. They agree that this is a good and historic day for both of our nations. And going forward, it is essential that Pakistan continue to join us in the fight against al Qaeda and its affiliates.
The American people did not choose this fight. It came to our shores, and started with the senseless slaughter of our citizens. After nearly 10 years of service, struggle, and sacrifice, we know well the costs of war. These efforts weigh on me every time I, as Commander-in-Chief, have to sign a letter to a family that has lost a loved one, or look into the eyes of a service member who’s been gravely wounded.
So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when our people have been killed. We will be relentless in defense of our citizens and our friends and allies. We will be true to the values that make us who we are. And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al Qaeda’s terror: Justice has been done.
Tonight, we give thanks to the countless intelligence and counterterrorism professionals who’ve worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. The American people do not see their work, nor know their names. But tonight, they feel the satisfaction of their work and the result of their pursuit of justice.
We give thanks for the men who carried out this operation, for they exemplify the professionalism, patriotism, and unparalleled courage of those who serve our country. And they are part of a generation that has borne the heaviest share of the burden since that September day.
Finally, let me say to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11 that we have never forgotten your loss, nor wavered in our commitment to see that we do whatever it takes to prevent another attack on our shores.
And tonight, let us think back to the sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11. I know that it has, at times, frayed. Yet today’s achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people.
The cause of securing our country is not complete. But tonight, we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history, whether it’s the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.
Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Thank you. May God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America."
These are some of the excerpts from what President Obama said in his address to the nation confirming the killing of Osama Bin Laden.
"Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaida, and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children."
"Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties."
"Justice has been done."
"Our war is not against Islam, but against murderers."
“The death of Bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date against Al Qaeda."
“We must also reaffirm that United states is not and will never be at war against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader, in fact, he slaughtered many Muslims.”
I think these are very carefully crafted words while addressing the nation and the world to clarify US stands against global terrorism and not particularly against muslim nation. What say guys!!!
The most sensational breaking news started flashing out in the morning at every news channels about the killing of the most wanted fugitive on earth, Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan was finally confirmed by no other than the US President Barack Obama in a brief White House message.
This is how it is confirmed by the US President. Congratulations to one and all.
