Palaeography petition

The Chair of Palaeography at King's College in the University of London is the only one of its kind in the UK, and is of fundamental intellectual significance to a broad and interdisciplinary scholarly community as well as to the wider community beyond universities. Many other classical, medieval and early modern disciplines depend on the accurate deciphering of manuscripts and documents and their proper understanding, while the study of writing offers a gateway to the comprehension of our own history, writ large. We therefore urge the Executive of KCL to reconsider their proposal to cut this prestigious Chair.

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Climate change petition

Copenhagen's last-ditch summit to stop catastrophic global warming is failing; world leaders are appealing for massive public pressure to save it. Sign the giant petition below - it may be the largest in history:

With just 2 days left, the historic Copenhagen climate summit is failing.
World leaders have begun the final hours of direct negotiations. The UK Prime Minister has directly appealed to Avaaz to build the tidal wave of public pressure needed to reach a deal that stops catastrophic global warming of 2 degrees.

Sign the petition for a real deal -- the campaign already has a staggering 11 million supporters -- over the next 48 hours let's make it the largest petition in history! The name of every signer is being read out right now in the summit hall.

We are making history in Copenhagen. A group of young people have sat down in the middle of the summit and begun reading the names of every person who signs the petition for a real deal. Another group is doing the same 'petition reading sit-in' in the Canadian Prime Minister's office, and rumours are that more such actions will happen tomorrow. On an emergency conference call with 3000 Avaaz members today, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said:

"What you're doing through the internet around the world is absolutely crucial to setting the agenda. In the next 48 hours, don't underestimate your effect on the leaders here in Copenhagen"

Earlier, millions watched the Avaaz vigil inside the summit on TV, where Archbishop Desmond Tutu told hundreds of delegates and assembled children:
“We marched in Berlin, and the wall fell.
"We marched for South Africa, and apartheid fell.
"We marched at Copenhagen -- and we WILL get a Real Deal.”
Copenhagen is seeking the biggest mandate in history to stop the greatest threat humanity has ever faced. History will be made in the next 48 hours. How will our children remember this moment? Let's tell them we did all we could.

Petition to save human remains

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to reject utterly any suggestion that remains found in Stonehenge should be reburied and left to decay.
The recent history of this nation is founded upon scientific principles. Science advances continually because of a continual influx of new evidence and information. To allow these remains to be reburied would result in a vast loss of potential evidence as new techniques as yet undeveloped could never be used on these valuable specimens. We must of course be respectful and treat human remains as well as possible, but not if this is at the cost of science, history and education.

(On the 10 Downing Street website.)