I write this today out of concern of the times that we find ourselves in. Pakistan is in turmoil and reasons seem to baffle most of us, but this certainly has India rolled back in the couch laughing absurdly.

South Africans are living in fear that a suspected corrupted rapist could become the next president and the mere fact that such a clown is even considered to be a candidate makes us the laughing stock of the free world.
Our health minister is a drunk and a kleptomaniac.

The price of fuel is at its highest, Shumacher quit Formula 1 a year ago, and the mummified king of Egypt is on display.
Energy drinks increase the heart rate and is now considered a health risk, speed cameras and traffic offers are more prevailent than working traffic lights, and our school kids are drug dealers.

Im starting to think that South Africa and the world should be in a dictatorship!

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So it's the Internet age. Things have certainly come along way since 10MB email accounts oohed and aahed us all. Even my folks use MSN, and know how to book a flight online nowadays. They still struggle with normal desktop stuff like WORD and EXCEL, but they A for away online.

We've all heard the hype bout web 2.0, and if you are reading this, then u are reading one of the largest supporting factors, blogs. Web 2.0 is the age of wiki, blogs, flikr and youTube. user interaction!

It's been around for awhile now, but making money online has always been seen as a geeky thing reserved for those who made some petrol cash before the dot com bubble popped. But then came eBay, and the world is looking at the web in a new light. And it was only a matter of time until making money online became as easy as making money offline.

But now there's online hustling!

That's the term I'm calling affiliate marketing, cos the name seems drab on its own. It's not a new concept. but its a booming concept. Anyone with a blog, a website, or even a newsletter can get involved. In fact, a true online hustler might not even own an online presence, but merely leeches off or trades online space.

And don't get it wrong, if you think a loft in Manhattan is pricey, you should take the time to check out prices of online property. Popular websites, like yahoo.com, forbes.com, msn.com could charge up to $200 000 a month for a prime spot.

Naturally the spot with the highest traffic gets to send the bill with the highest rent.

Here a true online hustler will weigh his options. Does he hustle online property, or hustle ads on rented property?

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I had plans of completing my MBA before I put my education to work and get myself a job. But circumstances have led to the realization that I won't be able to rush off to the admissions department of the top Business schools just yet. Financial constraints are forcing me to get a job now, and hopefully save up enough cash to make that visit to the admissions department in say, 1 year from now.

So I have started job hunting. Based on my willingness to travel and my self-sufficient nature, I'm searching for jobs in any country, just as long as the salary is decent, and the work is respectable.

My first stop, being the Google addict that I am, was to google online job placement portals. So now I am a registered user on at least three such portals. Two of which are based in South Africa and one in India. My educational qualifications (yes, I do have an education!), my personal details, my skills set and my work experience have all been uploaded.

I've been working for a long time. Since I was a kid, I've been drawn into the family business and have given all my teenage weekends to the family businesses. I've had a few other jobs as well and I have even sold insurance for a little bit.

But none of my jobs have been directly related to my academic pursuits. So now I find myself looking at IT related jobs online that require a minimum of two years working experience. There are no jobs available for freshly graduated candidates.

Excellent, now I will never get a job, because I don’t have experience, and I won't get experience because I don’t have a job.

How does anyone solve this 'stone-in-my-shoe' type problem?

By the way, if you know of anyone hiring, let me know ;).

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I've been a victim of discrimination in a country that is trying so hard to become the worlds leading super-power.

I must admit, that India has done a very good job of catching up to major world economies, and I am still in awe at the current standings of India being listed 3^rd behind America and China respectively. If you have ever been to India, you would understand my amazement.

This is a country of micro-entrepreneurial groundings and it merges as a country where everyone can be a businessman. Who needs the American dream when the Indian dream is a more real possibility considering the mere magnitude of growth this economy and country has seen.

I have had the opportunity of completing my undergraduate degree in this country. I was based in a city that is clearly becoming the future hub of the technological world. Being a foreign student in this country I find myself in a unique position to be able to judge the future of the people from afar without having too much sentiment attached to my judgment. Some call it unfair; I call it freedom of expression.

I forgot to mention that I am a South African mid twenty-something male who happened to have experienced the final stretch of apartheid. But I too have benefited from the fall of the discriminating regime, and have witnessed remarkable reform in what was previously considered an irreparable country.

This brings me to my point. India: a major world player and the future. As much as I stand as an admirer of this country, I have recently been disgusted by the sheer magnitude of discrimination that is found in this country. And I'm not talking about the caste system that has been written about over and over the world over. I'm talking about a blatant humiliation of foreigners whose effects of being here is the sole foundation of this countries growth.

Enough of beating about the bush. I was told that because I am from Africa, I am a murderer, a drug-dealer and a terrorist.

"Because of your presence, no-one in the suburb is safe!"

"Nigerians and South Africans are the same, and they are always bad news!"

"With all the bomb blasts happening in India, I fear for my family because you are from Africa!"

The irony in this comment is that I am of Indian origin, and my family name is much respected in India.

But, I am from Africa. And I hold a South African passport. Does this make me an instant terrorist? Does this make me a drug-dealer? At first I smiled at this idea, but when I was told that I am not welcome in a building/suburb because of this, it found a certain rage inside of me, a rage that has the potential of turning me into the terrorist that I am being accused of being. Then I find myself smiling again.

A retired army general residing in South Delhi, has found it necessary to victimize me because I am from Africa. He looks the part of a very respectable Indian gentleman in society, and considering the level of his achievement I would have assumed that he was educated enough to understand that discrimination could start a world war.

Infact, maybe I should use my newly found terrorist status to start a world war. And look, I'm smiling again.

But is this amusing? Or should I be worried that even though this country has achieved so much, and it has the potential to achieve so much more in the near future, and it could even find itself ranked as the world's most powerful economy, India could find itself hitting a solid wall of resentment for everything foreign.

And could this resentment soon build up in the rest of the world as a reciprocal to the raised-eyebrow that foreigners are given here?

This has the potential to turn nasty. And India should be warned that this kind of judgement is no longer acceptable. As the Americans would say, "Get in line or else!"

Maybe Bush and his barracks of marines should visit. Maybe Nelson Mandela should be informed.

Retired military general or not, that should make him rethink his sentiments.

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