Can only now be found in pubs watching football while half the world occupies and buys out England. Even the big soccer team is owned by the Russian tycoon, the richest person in EU is not from EU but in LOndon. Barring the past era of British music, Britain has lost its core properties.

No cricket champs, no golf champs, no Polo champs, no tennis champs--and u say u r the invisble superpower??

As for chicken curry and tea: If we like something we adopt it and make it our own. It's quite a strong skill.

Herc, you seem to display a strong chip on your shoulder with regard to a number of nations with which you seem to have a deep grudge.  Australia and the UK being two of these.

 

There are expected to be 7-8 bids for Jaguar/Range Rover.  Jaguar is currently in US control so why do you suggest that its purchase by an Indian company is now the "final nail in the coffin" when it hasn't been "british" for quite some time.  The company is literally a corporate wreck - it's purchase by Tata, which may very well be the worst car manufacturer in the world, will not be the nail in the coffin of British industry, but would doubtless be the nail in Jaguar's coffin. 

The UK has some of the most liberal investing laws in the world and is a very attractive destination for foreign investment on account of it.  There is no way that a foreign company could purchase a French automaker otherwise they too may no longer exist.  There has been debate as to whether this liberal attitude has led to the decline of British industry but that is for another thread. 

 

One important point to remember however is that although British brands have fallen in the auto industry, foreigners, particularly the Japanese have been investing in the country and some of those facilities are very productive (despite the high valuation on the pound). 

 

If Herc were wanting of insight, then he would reach the conclusion that if India was open to FDI, which is something only recent in occurence, then the majority of its population might own a car, and those few that do might not be driving something built by Tata and based on British engineering from the 1950s.

???? Grudge?? If anything I was suggesting that Britishness is being depleted by foreign ownership of British heritage

symbolic icons. Its more on the lines of a BNP pitch which would be far from ur assertion (though I do not support BNP).

My assertion is British have lost some nostalgia with this wanton sale to foreigners, I mean Buckhingham palace could sonn be Paris Hiltons new location (Hilton, Buckhingham) and I would guess there would be barely a whimper from the Brits. All in the name of internationalization. As for Australia I have a special place in my heart for them--down under-haha.

You're a strange one, Herc! You sound like a socialist.

Are you saying that Britain being the second largest source for outward foreign investment is not a source of some pride? As for inward foreign investment, well, how can that be considered bad? The USA attracts huge amounts of inward foreign investment does that bother you? Does it bother you that BAE owns so many US defence companies?

As for core properites, If you did some research you would find that British companies dominate Europe's finance, banking,
insurance, oil, mining, biotechnology, aerospace, defence and
telecommunications industries.  What else is there?

if you would care to notice they will still  be built in britain by british workers as they have the expertise in making QUALITY  machines such as landrovers etc