Yikes! Talk about defaming my good character.

Yesterday I received this email;

"Hi there,

Thank you for your application and your interest in Frontier.

On this occasion we shall not be taking your application to the next stage but would like to thank you for your correspondence and wish you all the best.

Good luck with everything.
Best wishes

Jon McCullough

Overseas Operations Officer The Society for Environmental Exploration / Frontier50 - 52 Rivington Street, London EC2A 3QP, UKTel: +44 (0) 20 7613 2520Fax: +44 (0) 20 7613 2992E-mail: operations@frontier.ac.ukWebsite: www.frontier.ac.uk
"To promote and advance field research and implement practical projects contributing to the conservation of natural resources and sustainable rural livelihoods in East Africa, South East Asia and Central America"".

Now although I did once have the misfortune to be associated with a UK educational establishment I did manage to escape before any permanent intellectual damage was done. This means that I would be highly unlikely to re-apply for any such similar degradation. I most certainly would not apply to an operation as shoddy as Frontier.

I am however quite interested by the idea of sending British Students to study overseas. You see being raised by the British Establishment I was never afforded luxuries such as foreign trips or even on occasion teachers and classes. This means that I have never been to Sudan or indeed have a clue what language they speak there.

This disadvantage however did not prevent me from realising the whole Mohammed Teddy Bear incident was moderates within the Sudanese government reaching out to Britain for help ending the situation in Darfur. Sadly my graduated superiors were sharp enough to realise that. It's OK though because the president of Sudan has just been indited for war crimes. I'm sure the people of Darfur will go to bed warmed by the knowledge that the principles of international justice are being upheld even if it means the UN will be withdrawing from the area.

As the email had strong elements of psychometric testing and was designed to bring out a multitude of different interpretations for analysis I have to consider it's use of the word "Operations". The use of the phrase could mean that the document was intended as a threat. A threat that the state will withhold my grandmothers right to receive medical attention.

I hope that isn't the case because there's violence, there is knife crime and then there's lashing out wildly at an 87 year old woman. Not that the British State would have any compunction in doing such a thing, after all what has she done for her country? Absolutely nothing! Nothing apart from giving up her husband for a six year war. Having her brothers and cousins killed in that same war. Putting up with rationing and bombing to raise the next generation of national servants. Why should any of that count when we've got a bunch of silly little lesbians running around trying to out butch each other?

Yesterday I also got sent a questionnaire about the Olympics. This asked me if I felt proud to be British and gave me options to answer including; "Yes, at historical events" and "Yes, when the national team wins." Sadly though it didn't have an option saying;

"I used to. Then Britain tried to kill me and failed before bursting into tears, stomping it's feet and waving it's fists about. After a performance that poor it's hard to feel anything but shame."