I think you're off-target there fireflybob. I haven't seen many people crtiticising Branson in Britain. It's quite the opposite if anything, most people think the sun shines out of his rear end and would appoint him as Prime Minister given half a chance. The problems arise when Bransons hype catches up with him and the public experience the reality. Virgin trains is a classic example - launched in fanfare with extravagant promises of success, they're now a laughing stock and considerably worse than before he took over. The reason he gets a slating on these forums is because they're largely read by intelligent, well-informed people who don't fall for the hype. People here know lots of his grandstanding schemes will never work (eg Concorde), and don't forget about them when RB suddenly turns down the volume. When was the last time you saw the UK media write anything critical about RB? The only people on UK TV that I saw tackle him on Concorde were Richard and Judy, and despite being as far from 'hard interviewers' as you can get they had him squirming in his seat!