I clicked the first link: noted that we are supposed to have until June 25th, to get the signatures.
What then, may I ask?
I presume that if a purportedly valid number of signatures is not collected, then the petition will be withdrawn. There is no listing of how many signatures are being sought.
Further, I personally doubt that Prime Minister Gordon Brown will act on it, as Cunard is not owned or run by the British Government.
At this point, one should note that so-called Internet Petitions are not going to create any urgent actions.
Besides, with the number of persons these petitions are forwarded to, one can only wonder how long it is supposed to take from them to obtain the planned number of signees, then be forwarded to the intended recipients.
I, twice, received, at work, the Prayer-In-Public-Schools petition email; both times I deleted it (I figure kids pray enough, by themselves, before tests and assignments, that it is unnecessary).
That was about five years ago, and no word if "W" has received the final email with "Signature #10,000", especially if White House emails are filtered out, by anti-span programs.
The QE2 is going to be 40 years old, so as wonderful as it might be for her to sail for 100 years, I can't see that happening, due to the continued maintenance needed, especially with QUEEN MARY 2 and QUEEN VICTORIA now dwarfing her in size, though not speed, in QUEEN VICTORIA's case.
given the price of crude these days, I'm surprised that the plan isn't to make the QE2 a private yacht for the Crown Prince
I'd imagine it becoming a luxury excursion for the high-paying guests at Palm Jumerai.
Imagine the ship being renamed "PRIDE OF DUBAI" or "PRIDE OF UAE" and "See the sites of the Middle East".
Anyway, I think that the deal between the Palm Jumerai resort owners and Cunard is now done.
On November 27th, the QE2 will be formally retired, though I can see the QUEEN MARY 2 and QUEEN VICTORIA saluting her when their round-the-World excursions come to Dubai; same with the QUEEN ELIZABETH (3).