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My noble friend Lord Graham and the noble Lord, Lord Stoddart, raised concerns about the prison officer disputes and the reserve power that we wish to take. I pay tribute to prison officers, who have an incredibly difficult job. They do not often get a good press outside or, indeed, even in your Lordships' House. The great majority of prison officers do a fantastic job but we face a very difficult situation in view of the action taken in August and the decision of the POA to withdraw from the current joint voluntary agreement. I say to my noble friend Lord Graham
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that we hope it will be possible, before Royal Assent, to agree a new dispute resolution and trade union recognition agreement with the POA, but we think that we need the reserve power. We do not believe that the kind of industrial action that took place could ever be justified in the prison context, not least because of the prisoners' welfare considerations.
A great deal of attention has been paid to indeterminate sentences for public protection, and we shall come back to that in Committee. I am the first to acknowledge that these have not been targeted well enough and that too many cases with short tariffs have caused problems with managing and rehabilitating offenders in the prison system. That has had a knock-on impact on the availability of programmes that IPP sentence prisoners have to undertake before the Parole Board can consider their eventual release. Clearly, we have to deal with that. We believe that the proposals in the Bill will enable us to ensure that these are focused on the most serious and dangerous offenders.
I turn to the subject of extreme pornography. The noble Earl, Lord Onslow, and a number of other noble Lords expressed some concerns, which I well understand, about the definitions and how they might be applied. The reasons for bringing this matter before your Lordships' House are well taken: some very disturbing cases, with disturbing impacts, have arisen from the availability of extreme pornography. Equally, I accept that we have to be very careful about the definition; we do not want it to be wider than we intend. I said in my opening speech that we will bring forward amendments—in Committee, I hope—to make that absolutely clear.
We have had a very interesting, almost cameo, debate about prostitution. I certainly accept the comments of my noble friend Lord Faulkner and the noble Baroness, Lady Miller, that we need to see this in the round, as part of a comprehensive approach. Noble Lords have rather made fun of my ministerial colleague's recent visit to Sweden, but it should be seen as a positive, fact-finding tour and a contribution to this wider debate. It feeds into a six-month review in tackling the demand for prostitution. My noble friend Lord Faulkner accepted that the intent of the clauses in the Bill is positive. It deals with the revolving-door problem of people being consistently caught by the police, brought before the courts and then reoffending. That is the aim of the clause; it aims to help people to address the causes of offending. The consensus I sensed from the comments of noble Lords is that we need to have programmes that are designed to help people get out of the position that they are in.
I thank the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Manchester for his comments on blasphemy. No doubt he will take on board the earnest request of the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, to speed it up even more than the church is already doing. I pay tribute to the church for its work in this area. As for homophobic offences, I say to the noble Lord, Lord Waddington, that there is a distinction between the Public Order Act, which protects individuals from harm, and the clause, which deals with incitement to hatred of people as a group on the basis of their sexual orientation.
Police activity obviously comes down to their operational independence, but like most organisations I suspect that they must go through a learning process. The Crown Prosecution Service will always assess a case and bring a prosecution only if there is a reasonable prospect of conviction. Let me emphasise that this new law will not prevent free speech or debate; it will not prevent jokes or expressions of religious belief. We recognise the importance of safeguarding freedom of expression, conscience and religion. I give way.
Lord Stoddart of Swindon: My Lords, in light of what the noble Lord has just said, will the Government be prepared to accept an amendment safeguarding free speech, as we have in racial and religious legislation?
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: My Lords, the short answer is no. We do not consider it necessary, but I am happy for us to debate that after Second Reading. The noble Lord, Lord Elystan-Morgan, rather responded to my noble friend on self-defence. I re-state that we do not intend to extend the law. It is clear, despite the excellent work of the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Crown Prosecution Service in public education, that public concern and confusion remain. The existing law clearly works better than most people think; I readily acknowledge that, but it does not work as well as it could or should. The Bill's aim is to aid understanding.
On the issue of quashing convictions, I undertake to write in detail to noble Lords on those matters. Perhaps I may do that in the light of the meeting that is to take place with the Bar Council in the next 24 hours or so. I can tell my noble friend Lady Kennedy that we have always acknowledged that the provisions in Clause 42 would impact on very few cases, but the fact that we think there will be only very few cases is no reason for not taking action. One of the cases in which some concern was expressed was Smith, when the defendant was convicted after submission of no case to answer had, in the court's opinion, been wrongly rejected by the trial judge. In that decision the court not only quashed the conviction but made it clear that it would have done so even if the defendant had gone on to plead guilty after his submission was rejected. I will follow this up with a more detailed explanation.
Given the time, I shall now come on to caseworkers. Designated cases were first introduced in 1999. In the nine years since, the general view is that the system has worked well and a good reputation has been earned. I can tell the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, that this is not justice on the cheap, nor does it undermine the role of magistrates' courts. It is about the most effective use of resources. I make no defence about saying that, given the resources we have, we must use them more effectively.
The noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, raised two issues: first, the threshold of the case and, secondly, regulation. On the latter issue, the Crown Prosecution Service is holding discussions with the Institute of Legal Executives concerning membership for its designated caseworkers and accreditation for training programmes. I hope to report back at a later stage on the outcome of those discussions.
I listened with interest to the comments on violent offender orders, as did my noble friends. We are satisfied that such orders are compatible with convention rights, but I understand that we shall have to reply to the committee's response. We had a very interesting discussion on special immigration status. The noble Lords, Lord Dholakia and Lord Avebury, asked some important questions to which I shall respond. I have to say that the Government do not think it right that people who have committed serious offences should be entitled to leave to remain, including access to key mainstream benefits and employment on the same basis as law-abiding migrants simply because they cannot be removed at present.
I think that noble Lords welcomed the Government's intent to move to withdraw clauses on the ombudsmen. I shall take that with me, as it was good to get some welcome. I reiterate that the Government are committed to getting that on the statute book and no doubt bringing back the kind of criminal justice Bill that noble Lords wish to see in the future. In the mean time, we shall work very hard to see what consensus can be achieved. This has been an educative and highly informed debate. I look forward to Committee and to debating these matters in great detail.
On Question, Bill read a second time, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House.
Lord Alderdice asked Her Majesty's Government whether they support moves towards developing an inclusive semi-permanent conference to address the problems of the Middle East.
The noble Lord said: My Lords, in the early 1990s the positive possibilities of the Madrid conference of 1991 and the Oslo process kindled some hope for progress, including in Northern Ireland where I remember many people saying to me that if they could do it in the Middle East and in South Africa, which was also on the road to peace at that time, then surely we could do something in Northern Ireland. While South Africa and Northern Ireland have indeed moved ahead since that time, the first Gulf War increased US involvement in the Middle East. Antipathy was stimulated to that involvement, not only in the regimes in Iran, Iraq and Syria, but also on the Arab street. The US war on terror, its response to the 9/11 attacks, further polarised opinion and strengthened anti-western sentiment. The Iraq war, which from 2003 brought Sunni governance in Iraq to an end, strengthened Iran and added a further dimension of Sunni-Shia tension.
A resurgent Russia and an emergent China—driven by strategic political and economic ambitions now, rather than by ideology—are also fashioning their involvement in the region. This creates an increasing complexity and instability in the region. The models which are generally used to guide our policy in such issues seem to be based on resource and commodity questions—oil and water in particular in that region—our relations with the United States and, in the case of the Middle East, the historic line of peace plans from Madrid to Annapolis.
These are important issues and some progress has been made in various areas. We can now speak about negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians towards a two-state solution without being laughed out of court, as would have been the case especially before Oslo. However, in overall terms the situation is grave and deteriorating. My own experience in the past two or three years of visiting many of the countries in that great arc from Indonesia to Morocco—where the majority of the population are Muslim—is that the antipathy towards the West has grown enormously in the past seven or eight years. The unresolved difficulties between Israelis and Palestinians have come to have a symbolic significance, especially in the minds of ordinary people. This is even the case in those countries whose leaders are tolerably well disposed to the West, but are increasingly fearful of the mood of their people. As an Egyptian Cabinet Minister in Cairo said to me some months ago, "The people walk on one side of the street and the Government walk on the other side".
In the 10 years or so since the Good Friday agreement, I have given a good deal of thought to the experiences of other processes which we drew upon in Northern Ireland, as well as the question of what of our experience was relevant and what was not transferable to other places and people. Especially since 2003 and my later time as Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, I visited and studied experiences in various parts of Europe, especially the Balkans, but also various countries in Latin America, Africa, South-East Asia and the wider Middle East.
I have spoken from time to time about a number of conclusions about long-standing violent political conflicts and how to address them. While resource questions such as water, minerals and energy sources are important, it is how they lead people to deal unfairly with other people that is the cause of the conflict, rather than availability or scarcity. While poverty and deprivation lead to unhappiness, it is the relative injustice of their distribution which leads to conflict. Though, politically, disagreement may lead to division, it is a sense of humiliation and disrespect that predisposes to violence and terrorism. These general conclusions imply that it is the way we deal with disturbed relations rather than the particular solutions we propose which is crucial for a positive outcome. This is a different way of addressing such problems.
Take the case of post-World War 2 Europe, which initially took coal and steel, and later economic co-operation and trade in general, as the instruments through which historic enemies could find common ground. The key issue was not to come up with a clever plan for what to do with particular resources or the Common Market—indeed the plans changed constantly—but to create, as was the case, a set of institutions through which new ways of relating with each other were developed, and, in particular, ways of disagreeing without going to war.
That required everyone to be at the table—not just big and powerful countries, and not just the Governments and governing parties either. It was especially important that traditional enemies, as well as historic allies, engaged with each other. Of course, we think particularly of France and Germany, but not them alone in the EU
context. Such processes involved a great deal of time. They are not the result of some weekend retreat or peace conference. The survival of any agreements that they reach is dependent on continued, long-term involvement together, and the independent monitoring of agreements reached—in the case of the EU, through the Commission and the court.
The arms control processes and NCSCE are further large-scale examples of inclusive, semi-permanent institutions that brought traditional enemies together over long periods and which have demonstrated a degree of success. In many ways, the much more localised but relatively successful processes in South Africa and Northern Ireland have also demonstrated those characteristics of inclusivity and sustained involvement, until and beyond agreement, both by those directly involved and by interested parties from outside—the maintenance of the process being extremely important.
One key region where I have spent a good deal of time during the past three or four years is the Middle East, where I have been struck by a profound fear of the slide into chaos—a capacity for and an openness to thoughtful engagement on all sides. The kind of things that have repeatedly been said to me by leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah are so reminiscent of my conversations with Gerry Adams and his colleagues in the early days of the peace process. The anxieties of the unionist leaders and people, with which I have been very familiar for many years, are strikingly mirrored by the profound and realistic fears of many people who may have met in Israel.
I do not believe that any such situation, including the Israel-Palestinian problem, can be solved by splitting people into good guys and bad guys, however persuasive and tempting such a view may be. The problems are problems of disturbed and damaged relationships. They can be resolved only by giving people on all sides a sense of confidence that their concerns are appreciated and will be addressed, and by finding a way to create a process in which all of the players can engage.
I am very much aware that even the word "process" is a bad word in the Middle East, because of the profound disappointment at the failure of the Oslo process. Perhaps we must find another word, but the fact is that that way of working over a period is critical. It is a long-term proposition, I know, but even starting on the road can begin to change the climate of opinion, because people who are given a chance to state their case sense that they, and those whom they represent, are being treated with at least a modicum of respect. That can in itself be transformative.
That is not the situation in the Middle East. The current process is not inclusive. It appears to hiccup along with an increasing sense of despair on all sides. The post-Annapolis process, for example, like what went before, is overseen by a quartet that represents only external powers—nobody who lives in the region. A first step in inclusivity could involve expanding that instrument to include the Arab League. When I raised that with Secretary-General Amr Moussa, he said, "Of course I would welcome that. At the moment, they do not even pay attention to our concerns at the United Nations, where we are represented".
Could Her Majesty's Government see their way to supporting such a development? The Syrian Government have made very clear on a number of occasions their preparedness to engage. Our response should be to engage with them, not with the diplomacy of finger-wagging and threats, as has, sadly, being the case before now. The same is true of that most complex society in Iran, where there are senior figures who do not at all hold to the wilder public remarks of the president, but find little possibility of engagement while the country as a whole is treated as a pariah and an enemy.
In a recent private meeting in Finland, at which Jeffrey Donaldson, Martin McGuinness and I, along with some others from Northern Ireland, as well as "Mac" Maharaj and Roelf Meyer from South Africa, met with a couple of dozen Sunni and Shia parliamentarians and senior leaders. Martin McGuinness made a very interesting comment, which was that he and his colleagues had come after a number of years to the conclusion that they eventually had to engage with those with whom they disagreed. They could postpone it for five, 10 or more years, but, in the end, it was a political problem that would have to be addressed politically. He challenged the Iraqis there that they could do the same: delay for five, 10 or more years and, in the end, come to the table, or move more quickly and with the help of others from outside.
I have been gratified that my proposals over the past few years for an inclusive, semi-permanent conference have been taken up by a number of research bodies. The Oxford Research Group in this country, the Strategic Foresight Group in India and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Germany, have all developed this theme, although in some cases, such as that of the Oxford Research Group, they have taken lines that significantly differ from what I have proposed. I have emphasised the importance of governmental and political involvement, while others have focused on NGOs and experts.
I raise this with Her Majesty's Government because we are at an important juncture. On the down side, there are vulnerable leaders in Israel and the Palestinian Authority and the US presidency is coming to a close. However, for the first time, for some time, we have a US presidential election in which neither the vice-president nor vice-presidential incumbent are candidates. There will be a new administration at the end of this year and the beginning of the next. This gives a key opportunity for Her Majesty's Government to be imaginative, to build on our experience in Europe, Northern Ireland and elsewhere and to project a view—a strategy or an approach—to this important region in the Middle East that is positive and creative in developing western policy, rather than simply espousing and following others. I trust that it is possible for the Minister to give us a positive indication of this kind.
Lord Judd: My Lords, when I saw that the noble Lord, Lord Alderdice, had secured this debate—and I congratulate him on having done so—I wanted to participate for two reasons. The first was the importance of the issue. The second was that I knew that he, with all his experience, would, even in the short time available,
give us an opportunity to think more reflectively and profoundly about some of the issues we face than is always possible in the immediate pressures. He has certainly set the tone. I am sure he would, however, join me for a moment in wanting to put on record, at a difficult time, appreciation and really a tribute to my noble friends in government for the determined lead that they have been giving on trying to find a solution. That applies to the Foreign Office, but also very much to DfID. In this context, the £243 million pledged at the Paris conference, the unqualified calls for the restoration of Gaza fuel supplies and the condemnation of the counterproductivity of unacceptable and internationally illegal collective punishment are welcome.
I have spent a lifetime, outside this House, working in organisations very much caught up in this sort of situation. One of the things that I have learnt is that building peace is very different from imposing or fixing peace. There are no shortcuts. Widespread ownership is essential to the process and that has to be inclusive. Of course, outsiders can play a part as facilitators, but the moment that they begin to cross the line and start wanting to arrange it all and set the agenda, there are difficulties ahead.
At the time of the first Camp David initiative under President Carter, I was Minister of State at the Foreign Office. When I reflect on that period, I realise that the flaw in his highly committed, dedicated approach was that it was not inclusive enough. I remember saying to some officials in the Foreign Office, "The trouble is, at the bottom of the pile, there are still very significant Palestinian elements who are not being included. They don't feel any sense of ownership of what is happening". One has to give priority to trying to cast ownership and inclusion as widely as one can, and the real challenge is to bring in the most difficult, not the easy ones with whom it is possible to talk. As an observer of Northern Ireland from across the water, what I thought took tremendous courage—no one should underestimate what it took in that situation—was the willingness to start talking to the political representatives of the IRA.
I think that the same is true of Hamas. I know that it will be difficult for my noble friend to agree to that, but I hope he takes the point. Hamas is not an absolutely frozen institution in which everyone is the same. There have been differences and there is pluralism in the organisation, although misguidedly the external pressures have done their best to eliminate that pluralism and drive control of Hamas into the hands of the extremists. Although it will take extraordinary imagination and courage by Israel, there needs to be a willingness to realise that securing the guarantees for Israel's existence—to which I take second place to nobody—may have to be something that comes out of the process rather than laying it down in tablets of stone as an unnegotiated precondition of any conversations or talks about how that objective can be achieved.


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The above report lists the top 1 - 25 employment based Green Card sponsors (Missouri) in fiscal year 2016. For Example, the first three records on this report report that Cerner filed 249 permanent labor certifications under PERM for employment based Green Card in fiscal year 2016. The average salary of those job offerss was $72,756George's Processing filed 95 permanent labor certifications under PERM for employment based Green Card in fiscal year 2016. The average salary of those job offerss was $22,897Perficient filed 45 permanent labor certifications under PERM for employment based Green Card in fiscal year 2016. The average salary of those job offerss was $109,264. The number and average salary are not for all permanent labor certifications filed under PERM by at the appropriate National Processing Center by Perficient in fiscal year 2016. They are for Missouri jobs only.


I can't even……WOW. So much joy, kudos to photographer Maryanne who captured so much light and happiness, it radiates from every single image. And also some hero worship for Adelaide's Mum Sasha, altering her daughter's beautiful original Victorian gown to fit like a glove AND growing and putting together all of the stunning blooms. How much talent can one woman possess?!
This is a real home-grown, back garden family festival affair that I am completely head over heels for. I defy you not to instantly fall in love with the love.
Adelaide The Bride: My dress is vintage victorian handmade cotton lace altered in the 30's from Pennies, totally made over and adapted to fit me perfectly by my amazing mother, Sasha. Pennies have all sorts of wondrous things but specialise in incredible original beaded 1920's flapper style dresses, which aren't really my style, so I wasn't expecting to find the dress there. It was only the second place I'd been in to, and I went with my sister Phoebe to enjoy beginning to look more than anything else really. Pheebs had asked me on the way what sort of thing I wanted and I gave her a description (vintage, lace – but good lace, 3/4 length sleeves and long, but not voluminous). Then while we were in the shop Oliver, who sources all the amazing vintage pieces at Pennies and had just got back from a buying trip to Paris pulled the dress out of a bin bag. Phoebes said "That looks exactly like what you said you'd like" and she was right. I was anxious about buying something without having done a lot of looking around, but I know how rare good vintage is so I just took the plunge. It fit pretty well but my clever mum altered it to fit me perfectly. She said it was like archaeology, as she worked on it she could see how it was constructed and how it had been altered over the years. It was almost more difficult to find the slip to go underneath, in the end I bought a generic cream silk slip and mum tea dyed it the right shade, and shortened it for me, as I wanted to highlight the transparency of the lace with my legs visible through it.
My jewellery consisted of feather earrings, Bee necklace and 'love' and horseshoe rings all from Alex Monroe, whose designs I love. But none of it new for the wedding. John gave me the feather earrings as my first birthday present from him, and the Bee was from my sister as a gift at her wedding last year, the rings I wear all the time. John chose my engagement ring and wedding band from Barbara Tipple, and we really enjoyed visiting their workshop under the shop in Albermarle Street, apparently that whole area of Mayfair has hundreds of jewellery workshops under the streets and pavements.
My shoes were by Kurt Geiger. I found it really tough to find something with just an inch of heel, for running around in the field and dancing all night. My gold toenails are done with Minx gold foil which is amazing, so shiny and lasts for over a month usually, it's my summer treat and always gets lots of comments.
I didn't wear anything in my hair, a great friend of mine, Jennie Roberts did my hair, I know her from working as a Fashion Stylist, she's incredibly talented, and her lovely children and husband came to the wedding too.
I was so lucky, my incredible mother grew almost all the flowers herself, she has an amazing garden and grows all sorts of organic vegetables as well as beautiful plants and flowers. We went to the wholesale flower market in Brighton the day before the wedding and got some extra bits for filler. Mum made the most amazing enormous display, and all of the bouquets, our family friend and florist Lorna helped with the arrangements, including the gypsophila balls and the table flowers and made the buttonholes for all the guys. My sister and friends Flora and Virginia, Johns Mum Dru and I did the table flowers using vintage bottles and jars that I have collected over the years. Mum also dried petals for confetti.
My sister Phoebe (7 months pregnant at the time) was my Maid of Honour, she wore a simple dress she chose by COS. Then we had small people as our Bridesmaids and "Boysmaids" (Ava coined that term) – Ava, Matilda, Julia, Ida, Hector, Tama & Max. I put the girls in little flower printed dresses I found by John Rocha for Debenhams. I loved the look of the flowery dresses in the long grasses, they looked like little posies! The girls wore silver glittery shoes from Next and I made their fresh floral headpieces while I was having my hair done on the morning of the wedding. The boys I put in little linen shirts and shorts with braces from H&M and sandals from Next.
We didn't need one! John and I had a pretty good idea of what we wanted, then loads of our friends and our families mucked in to help pull it all together. My amazing parents put so much into the wedding, my dad and John and I spent long days cutting down trees and cutting new paths in his small patch of woodland for the children to explore, and dad logged 36 hours of mowing in the two weeks before the wedding cutting paths in the long grass.
Our lovely friend Lucy Norman designed our invitations for us, with an illustration of John and I on the other side by illustrator Rosie Curran she drew us at Green Man festival in her illustration Photo Booth and we asked her to bring it to the wedding but unfortunately she was booked for that day. Our friend Adam very kindly printed the invitations and our thank you cards for us.
The very talented Maryanne was our photographer, she was amazing, she worked so hard! She captured amazing moments that we missed and stayed all night, through the dancing to the sky lanterns that we released at the end of the night.
Our friend and film director Leanne Welham also took polaroids on the day that I treasure, and made a Super8 film that we can't wait to see!
John is a musician and he and the best men totally took me by surprise by serenading me during the ceremony with an acoustic version of "So Proud" by Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions. The best men pulled John's guitar from out of the hedge behind us and sang do wop chorus for him, I found it hilarious, but it was incredibly romantic too.
We also released some live Monarch butterflies in the ceremony, it was great watching the children holding them and a couple landed on people's hair or brightly coloured clothes.
We also rented Bell Tents for people to stay in from a great company called The Tipi Hire Company.
Our traditional marquee was from a fantastic company called BSW Marquees.co.uk.
Our caterers were an excellent local firm Three of a Kind Caterers.
Photography is truly astoundiung, such a joyful and colourful inspiring wedding.
Wow! Such an adorable wedding!


As a pastor, four things come to mind to help us make it through the near misses and nuclear events of life.
Every pastor gets frustrated with the lack of retention from the Easter outreach. Here are a few things you can do to ramp up your game in following up on your Easter guests.
Planning a great Easter celebration is about more than having a great sermon.
While Berkley Community Church is new to Converge MidAmerica, the church is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.


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Q: SQL sum formula vs jquery formula? I need to calculate sum and average in html table, my question is which is better, does one have huge advantages over the other? thanks!

A: In general, heavy lifting of data which originates in a database should be done in the database itself, and not in the application layer.  This would certainly be true, e.g., if the table in question had thousands (or more) of records.  That being said, if your jQuery view only shows a few dozen records, and you need to do aggregations or other similar things in the page itself, then there is nothing wrong with doing that.
Another point to consider here is the bandwidth which is consumed when data gets sent across the network from the database to your application.  It is desirable to not send data which you do not really need.  This might occur if you were sending certain data only for the purpose of aggregating it in your application layer, and displaying those aggregates to the user.  In this case, it would be preferable to crunch the data on the database, and then just send the results to the application.

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Congress Blog - 57s ago
Healthcare - 11m 3s ago
Pelosi endorses push to censure Trump
by Cristina Marcos - 08/18/17 12:46 PM ET
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday endorsed an effort to censure President Trump for his equivocating response to the violence resulting from a white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Va.
"Every day, the President gives us further evidence of why such a censure is necessary. Indeed, with each passing day, it becomes clearer that the Republican Congress must declare whether it stands for our sacred American values or with the President who embraces white nationalism," Pelosi said in a statement.
"Democrats will use every avenue to challenge the repulsiveness of President Trump's words and actions."
{mosads}Earlier this week, Democratic Reps. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (N.J.) and Pramila Jayapal (Wash.) unveiled a resolution that would censure Trump for his "inadequate response to the violence" and "failure to immediately and specifically name and condemn the white supremacist groups responsible for actions of domestic terrorism."
So far, only Democrats have signed on to the resolution.
Democrats are considering "a number of options" to possibly force a vote on the censure resolution, according to an aide.
Possibilities include filing a discharge petition, a tool frequently used by the minority party that requires at least 218 signatures to proceed. Discharge petitions are rarely successful.
Democrats could also file a resolution of inquiry, which would automatically trigger a vote in the committee of jurisdiction within 14 legislative days. Resolutions of inquiry demand documents from the executive branch, so, in this case, such a measure could request information on how the administration is working to counter white supremacist groups.
They might also be able to force a floor vote by folding the censure measure into what's known as a privileged resolution, which argues that an issue concerns the dignity and integrity of the House.
Democrats are still trying to establish if other procedural avenues would be available to them and therefore have not finalized any plans at this point.
The censure resolution is part of Democrats' kitchen-sink strategy against Trump for his handling of the Charlottesville violence. Democrats in the past several days have sent letters, demanded hearings and even called for impeachment to pressure Republicans in Congress and keep the issue in the headlines.
Congress has rarely ever moved to censure a president. And no president has ever been condemned by both chambers at the same time.
The Senate has voted only once to censure a president: Andrew Jackson in 1834 for moving to dismantle the Bank of the United States. But Jackson's allies ultimately revoked the resolution three years later upon gaining control of the Senate.
The House has considered a handful of measures to censure or rebuke presidents, like John Tyler in 1842 for abuse of powers and James Buchanan in 1860 for the handling of Navy contracts.
Some Democrats pushed to censure President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial in 1998 to avoid a vote to force him out of office but were unsuccessful.
Tags Bill Clinton

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NBC Senior Investigative Producer Jim Popkin looks at "Obama and the case of the missing 'thesis'" in an item on NBC blog Deep Background.
Conservative provocateurs have been hunting for it. Investigative journalists have been on the prowl, too. Even a former professor has been searching through old boxes for his copy of it. But today Barack Obama made it official: He doesn't have and can't release any copies of the thesis-length paper he wrote 25 years ago while a senior at Columbia University.
"We do not have a copy of the course paper you requested and neither does Columbia University," Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt told NBC News.
The hunt for Obama's senior "thesis" began with a throwaway line in a newspaper article last October. The New York Times story, on Obama's early New York years, mentioned in passing that the presidential contender had majored in political science at Columbia and had spent his time "writing his thesis on Soviet nuclear disarmament."
Journalists began hounding Columbia University for copies of the musty document. Conservative bloggers began wondering if the young Obama had written a no-nukes screed that he might come to regret. And David Bossie, the former congressional investigator and "right-wing hit man," as one newspaper described him, took out classified newspaper ads in Columbia University's newspaper and the Chicago Tribune in March searching for the term paper.
So what does the missing paper say, and could it be politically damaging to Obama? The Obama campaign won't offer any guidance since it says it doesn't have a copy. Spokesman Ben LaBolt wouldn't even say whether Sen. Obama threw out his copy or lost it.
So we turned for answers to the former professor who graded the now-elusive paper. His former professor, Michael Baron, recalled in an interview with NBC News that Obama easily aced the year-long class. Baron described the paper as a "thesis" or "senior thesis" in several interviews, and said that Obama spent a year working on it. Baron recalls that the topic was nuclear negotiations with the Soviet Union.
"My recollection is that the paper was an analysis of the evolution of the arms reduction negotiations between the Soviet Union and the United States," Baron said in an e-mail. "At that time, a hot topic in foreign policy circles was finding a way in which each country could safely reduce the large arsenal of nuclear weapons pointed at the other … For U.S. policy makers in both political parties, the aim was not disarmament, but achieving deep reductions in the Soviet nuclear arsenal and keeping a substantial and permanent American advantage. As I remember it, the paper was about those negotiations, their tactics and chances for success. Barack got an A."
Baron said that, even if he could find a copy of the paper, it would likely disappoint Obama's critics. "The course was not a polemical course, it was a course in decision making and how decisions got made," he said. "None of the papers in the class were controversial."


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text:
Dead Presidents(1995)
Submitted by Tornado Dragon
2 votes 3
Though Anthony (Larenz Tate), Kirby (Keith David), Skip (Chris Tucker), Jose (Freddy Rodriguez), Delilah (N'Bushe Wright) and Cleon (Bokeem Woodbine) carefully plan the armored truck heist, it ends up going horribly wrong when a lone cop wanders onto the scene. As Anthony and Jose start their ambush on the truck, it draws the cop's attention, so Kirby starts shooting at him. The cop fires back and wounds Kirby, but he gets killed by Skip soon after. Anthony and Delilah get into a gunfight with the security guards and kill most of them, but Delilah gets killed by one of them while saving Anthony. As the truck tries to get away, Jose puts too much explosives on the truck's back door, so when he detonates them, it destroys the truck, its driver, and most of the cash.
The surviving five manage to save over $300,000 from the burning wreck, and then they flee when the cops show up. During their escape, Jose leaves the group and goes down an alleyway. One of the cop cars follows him, and as he runs, he frenziedly shoots and kills the driver. This proves to be a fatal mistake, for the car ends up sandwiching him against the wall at the end of the alley and kills him.
The remaining four split the cash up with each other, and give Jose's family Jose's share. They all try to lay low afterwards, but Cleon draws unwanted attention from the police when he gives out $100 bills to his congregation and buys a new Cadillac, a car which he obviously can't afford. He gets arrested, and he decides to rat out the others.
Police barge into Skip's apartment, but they find him dead of a heroin overdose. They capture Kirby and Anthony at Kirby's pool hall, just as they were about to leave for Mexico. Anthony is tried, convicted, and sentenced to fifteen years to life in prison, and the movie closes with him on a bus on the way to prison.
Actor: Chris Tucker, Freddy Rodríguez, Keith David, Larenz Tate
Director: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller, War


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car2go to Offer Cross-Jurisdictional Access in Virginia, D.C.
Photo courtesy of car2go
car2go joined with officials from Arlington County and Washington, D.C. to announce a way to help get millions of area commuters and the region's 53,000-plus car2go members moving more efficiently.
Effective May 26, car2go members will be able to start trips in Arlington, Va., and legally end them in Washington, D.C., and vice versa.
"car2go's mission is to deliver instant, flexible, and affordable mobility for people on their own terms," said Paul DeLong, president and CEO of car2go North America. "Recent surveys make it very clear that the single most important issue on the minds of D.C. area residents is transportation. By working collaboratively with policymakers, innovative mobility companies like ours are helping to bridge the gap by providing more great transportation options to the millions of people who live, work, and play here. car2go's one-way carsharing model is a proven, convenient, and affordable transportation solution that has a significant and beneficial impact in reducing traffic congestion. …"
Prior to cross-jurisdictional access, car2go members had to start and end their trips in the same jurisdiction, according to the company. Today's announcement will allow area residents, commuters, and tourists alike to travel between the District and Arlington County using car2go's one-way carsharing fleet of 800 cars.
"Partnering with Washington, D.C. is a logical next step for Arlington's year-long demonstration study with car2go," said Dennis Leach, Arlington County's director of transportation. "Our residents, workers, and visitors will benefit from a seamless carsharing network that allows them to cross into the District, providing another transportation option for their daily trips."
Related: car2go Opens at Minnesota Airport
Currently, car2go has waived its $35 membership fee and is providing new members with 15 minutes of free drive time, according to the company.
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Read more about Carsharing District of Columbia Car2go One-Way Rentals


text:
Philippine Navy Modernization All Naval Assets for 2020
Published on May 19, 2020 by THEPHDFENSE
The Philippines is an archipelagic state and has one of the world's longest coastlines and a place of thousand islands. Now the country faces security challenges. Ranging from the West Philippine Sea dispute, intrusions of foreign ships, and piracy, the NavyNavy needs to tackle these tough challenges.
With the procurement of the Philippine Navy's newest hardware, these challenges may lessen or totally be eliminated. So here is the list of Philippine Navy's modern equipment to fight these obstacles.
Philippine Navy commissions two AW159 helicopters
The Philippine Navy (PN) commissioned two Leonardo AW159 Lynx Wildcat helicopters and four Korean Amphibious Assault Vehicles (KAAVs) in a ceremony held in June 2020 at the Naval Base Heracleo Alano in Cavite City.
The AW159s, which arrived in the Philippines in May 2019 as part of a PHP5.4 billion (USD101 million) contract signed with Leonardo in 2016, feature anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities and will serve with the Naval Air Wing's Squadron MH-40 at the Danilo Atienza Air Base.
The rotorcraft are expected to be deployed from the PN's two José Rizal-class frigates,
In the ASW role, the AW159s can be equipped with active dipping sonar, sonobuoys, depth charges, and torpedoes, as Jane's previously reported. In the anti-surface warfare role, the helicopters can be fitted with anti-ship missiles, rockets, and guns.
Amphibious Assault Vehicle
The service also commissioned the first four of eight KAAVs ordered in April 2016 from South Korean defense company Hanwha Techwin for PHP 2.42 billion.
The vehicles, which arrived in the country in the first week of May, are armed with .50 caliber machine guns and 40 mm grenade and smoke launchers and will be operated by the Philippine Marine Corps.
The remaining 4 arrived in august and already active on the service. The Navy wants to add 16 AAVs for the use of additional landing platform dock.
Recently the Philippine Navy received the recondition Pohang Class from South Korea. As of now, this warship is one of the most capable ships in the Philippine Navy. This warship is rename to Pohang-class corvette BRP Conrado Yap (PS-39).
The Memorandum of Understanding is basically an agreement between Hyundai Heavy Industries and the Department of National Defense on the construction of two brand new corvettes worth P28 billion.
The Philippine Navy is also looking forward to getting another Pohang-class corvette from South Korea, where the country's Navy is going to decommission some remaining Pohang Warship.
Fast Attack & Interdiction Craft – Missile Capable (FAIC-M)
The Philippine Navy is also looking to acquire eight fast attack interdiction craft with missiles through government-to-government deals, which would hopefully be signed before the year ends.
PKMs are medium-sized naval craft that functions are patrol boat and are generally armed with machine guns and cannons up to 25mm, 30mm and 40mm in caliber.
According to Emperad, he would like the eight fast attack interdiction craft missile from Israel worth P10 billion to be signed first among all the upcoming contracts "because it is a priority project of the President."
These Shaldag boats are seen to replace the Philippine Navy's patrol killer medium.
Offshore Patrol Vessel
Lorenzana said an initial contract between the Department of National Defense (DND) and the leading global shipbuilder, Austal Philippines based in this western coastal town here would amount to PHP30-billion for six Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) for the Philippine Navy.
Austal is offering a larger version of its 80-meter Cape-class patrol vessels being used by the Royal Australian Navy and Australian Border Force. Earlier, Lorenzana said the PN is preferring a government-to-government approach in acquiring the vessels.
The OPVs are part of Horizon Two of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program and expected to replace the World War II corvettes and minesweepers still in PN service as of this time.
Landing Platform Dock
The Department of National Defense (DND), through the Revised Armed Forces Modernization Program, is allocating the sum of PHP5.56 billion for the acquisition of two brand-new landing docks for the Philippine Navy (
The contract includes four landing craft utility and four units of rigid hull inflatable boats with integrated logistic supports. Winning bidders must be able to deliver the military vessels within 1,095 days.
Multi-purpose attack craft
Empedrad said they have also programmed the acquisition of 12 MPAC for the second phase of the modernization program.
"We also programmed to acquire 12 more MPAC in the second horizon until we reach our desired force mix of 42 MPAC," he said.
The three newly-acquired MPAC is in addition to the three missile-fitted fast attack craft of the Philippine Navy.
The new fast attack craft will be placed under the 4th Boat Attack Division of the Philippine Fleet activated last September 12.
BRP Jose Rizal Frigates (FF-150), the Philippine Navy's first-ever guided-missile frigate, will be undergoing various sea trials from November 23 to 27. These warships are expected to be delivered in 2020.
These ships are capable of conducting Anti-Air Warfare, Anti-Surface Warfare, Anti-Submarine Warfare, and Electronic Warfare Operations. It is fully equipped with Surface-to-Air and Surface-to-Surface Missiles, torpedoes, launchers, and weapon systems.
The contract for the two ships is placed at PHP16 billion with another PHP2 billion for weapon systems and munitions.
Category AFP Modernization Navy Tag Philippine Navy
Philippine Navy Acquire Indonesia Strategic Vessel and Oil Tanker
Philippine Navy Additional MPAC with Missile Launching Capability
Philippine Recon Marines Conducts Amphibious Interoperability
The Philippine Navy Landing Craft Vessel From South Korea
Philippine Navy Two Brand New Frigates Procurement
Philippine Navy Landing Class Heavy Ships from Australia
Philippine Navy Acquiring Indonesian Made Strategic Sealift Vessel


text:
, também escrito como 2002 PN149, é um objeto transnetuniano que está localizado no Cinturão de Kuiper, uma região do Sistema Solar. Este objeto é classificado como um cubewano. Ele possui uma magnitude absoluta de 7,0 e tem um diâmetro estimado com cerca de 175 km.

Descoberta
 foi descoberto no dia 11 de agosto de 2002 pelo astrônomo Marc W. Buie.

Órbita
A órbita de  tem uma excentricidade de 0,000 e possui um semieixo maior de 42,254 UA. O seu periélio leva o mesmo a uma distância de 42,254 UA em relação ao Sol e seu afélio a 42,254 UA.

Cubewanos
Objetos do cinturão de Kuiper
Objetos transnetunianos
Objetos astronômicos descobertos em 2002

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Leonid Skirko Ukr. Леонід Миколайович Скірко (born 27 April 1939, died 8 June 2012) is a Canadian bass-baritone opera singer of Ukrainian origin.
He was born in Shcherbynivka near Lozova, Ukraine to Marta (ne Havrysh), and to Mykola Skirko. The family fled both German and Russian occupation by crossing Ukraine to the relative safety of German Refugee camps. From 1945 to 1949, the Skirkos waited in a German Displaced persons camp in Augsburg for the opportunity to immigrate to another country. From 1949 to 1955 the family lived inSan Paolo, Brazil. Leonid's passion for music was stirred up by attending Orthodox liturgy with his beloved babushka (grandmother), and singing in church choirs from the age of 9. Leonid was 15 when he arrived in Canada in 1955 with this family.
From the age of 17 on, he took singing lessons and coaching from Maestro Hryhorij Shwedchenko, the internationally famous tenor of the Kiev Opera in the Ukraine, and later, from Professor Kazymyr Oleshkevych, a former conductor in the Kiev Opera. From the years of 1955 to 1969 Leonid took up his high school and university studies, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from McMaster University in 1964. In his spare time, he had the rich experiences of singing opera with the McMaster Operatic Society under the direction of Lee Heppner and later, the Hamilton Opera.
Leonid won several Kiwanis Music Festival Awards, and the W.J. Pickard Limited Scholarship. In 1962 he was invited as a soloist in many concerts in the Hamilton area of Ontario. For the McMaster University Operatic Society, he sang the role of Kezal, the marriage broker, in The Bartered Bride, Lucas in The Student Prince, Escamillo in Carmen, as well that of Mephistopheles in the opera Faust. Earlier he sang in Down in the Valley. In 1965, he performed excerpts from the part of Don Alfonso's role in Così fan tutte. He sang with the Canadian Opera Chorus from 1964 to 1969. Leonid was a member of the Opera Quartet of Hamilton.
With the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra and on television, Leonid performed Il maestro di cappella in two concerts. He sang the bass part in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, and with the Hamilton Opera, played Colline in La bohème, Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Gianni Schicchi in the opera of the same name. The Hamilton Spectator and The Ukrainian Weekly archives chronicle many of Leonid's early performances. In the sixties, Leonid was a soloist in the recording of the Easter Vespers Service with the choir of St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Toronto.
He appeared with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra singing the roles of Count Ceprano and Brander in concert performances of Verdi's Rigoletto in 1968, and in The Damnation of Faust in 1969. Famous conductor Seiji Ozawa conducted these opera concerts at Massey Hall. Almost a decade later in 1977, Leonid returned to the Toronto Symphony for a concert under the direction of the guest conductor and grand lady of opera Sarah Caldwell, singing excerpts from Rigoletto, in the role of Sparafucile, performed at the Forum in Ontario Place.
In 1969 Leonid moved to Germany. From 1969 to 1971 he sang ten roles in ten operas in Pfalztheatre in the city of Kaiserslautern, Southwest Germany: Raimundo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Sparafucile inRigoletto, Bonzo in Butterfly, Der Bauer in Die Kluge, Dr. Grenvil in La traviata, Dr. Fabrizzio in Il Campiello, Rocco in Fidelio, Simon in Gianni Schicchi, Padre Guardiano in La forza del destino, and Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni.
From 1971 until 1973, Leonid was contracted to the Theater Der Stadt Bonn. In Bonn Leonid sang seven roles in six operas. Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Masetto also in "Don Giovanni, Micha inBartered Bride, Montano in Othello, Reidinger in Mathis der Maler, Alidoro in La Cenerentola(Cinderella), and the 1st Nazarene in Salome. He also recorded Ukrainian songs with the Suedwest Rundfunk Orchestra.
He had a full season as a soloist with the Canadian Opera Company in 1978, and then a prolific period of singing Ukrainian Opera and national song with the Canadian Ukrainian Opera Company and the Dnipro Choir of Edmonton Productions under the tutelage of Volodymyr Kolesnyk.
Leonid returned to Toronto in 1973 and joined the Ivan Romanoff chorus and sang with his group for five years until 1978, singing weekly on CBC radio and in the summer every Sunday at the Ontario Place Forum.
With the Canadian Ukrainian Opera Association he sang performances of the lead role of Ivan Karas in Zaporozhets za Dunayem in 1975. In that same year, he sang in a vocal musical concert for theUkrainian Art Society "Kozub". In 1976 he performed for the 50th anniversary of St. Vladimir's Cathedral in Toronto. In 1977, he was featured in the Ukrainian Heritage Evening at the Forum in Ontario Place. In 1978 Leonid performed for a full season as a soloist with the Canadian Opera Company. He sang in Tchaikovsky's Joan of Arc, Verdi's Rigoletto, "Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier playing the Cardinal, Count Ceprano, and the police commissioner.
In June 1979, the Canadian Ukrainian Opera Association with Leonid in the role of Kozak Maksim, produced the North American première of the Ukrainian opera Kupalo, under the direction of Volodymyr Kolesnyk. There were many concert tours, including an invitation to Festival Canada on Canada Day, The Show on the Hill, which was telecast nationally by CBC TV from the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa.
In the year 1980, Leonid was the featured artist at the final Ukrainian Festival in Vancouver at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Eremenko's cantata Conquerors of the Prairie's, a collaboration of the Dnipro Choir in Edmonton and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, called on his talents in 1982. A record Ukraine is Rising which featured Leonid and other soloists was produced by Boris Dunayevsky-Dniprovy. A second one entitled You Are Alive Ukraine! would be produced later by Dnipro Art Production. 1981 marked the premiere of Kupalo in Edmonton. The opera Zaporozhets za Dunayem which had been staged in Toronto and Hamilton was followed by an appearance in Carnegie Hall, also in 1981. This was an opera concert with the American Symphony Orchestra and the Ukrainian Canadian Opera Chorus. There were opera concerts in Ottawa and Montreal. The following article raved about Leonid, and I quote, The two basses were outstanding. Scenes and duets involving the bass Karas are of interest. The most outstanding was the bass Leonid Skirko as Karas. His vocal performance matched his acting.
Kupalo, which in 1979 had been staged in Toronto was now performed in Edmonton in 1981 at the Jubilee Auditorium, and the role of Kozak Maxim once again brought him acclaim. This opera was produced by the Ukrainian Dnipro Ensemble of Edmonton. Also in 1981, there was a symphony concert at Hamilton Place with the McMaster Symphony Orchestra and the Mohawk College Singersfeaturing Leonid in the coronation scene of Boris Godunov. There were two opera concerts in Ottawa and Montreal. 1982 marked the 50th anniversary concert of the Ukrainian National Federation in Edmonton, and in 1982 and 1983, duet concerts were performed with Hanna Kolesnyk, in Toronto, Cleveland and Detroit. In 1983, the character Ivan Karas came to life again in two performances ofZaporozhets za Dunayem at the Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton. A portrait of Leonid and his co-star Hanna Kolesnyk was commissioned for the production and painted by the Ukrainian artist Ludmila.
1984 marked Ukrainian Opera Week in Toronto which included Natalka Poltavka and Zaporozhets Za Dunayem along with a gala concert which starred Leonid every evening of that week. In 1985 and 1987 there were two concerts of Bortnyansky's Sacred Music, his 35 sacred concertos for the Millennium year of the Baptism of Ukraine, in Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall. In 1986 the female group Merezhifrom Edmonton appeared in Toronto with Leonid. There were several millennium concerts. 1988 marked the official opening of the St.Volodymyr Cultural Centre in Oakville. There were concerts of mention in Detroit as well.
The magnificent Sacred Choral Concertos were an a cappella series of concertos written over a 25-year period from 1780 to 1805. These use a full choir against soloists or small ensembles known asconcertinos. Bortnyansky's melodies are saturated with Ukrainian folk tunes, while the texts are taken from the Book of Psalms. The Millennium Choir soloists consisted of 6 sopranos, 3 altos, 4 tenors, 6 basses. There were two concerts to launch the recordings, one in 1985 and one in 1987 in Roy Thomson Hall. The project was conceived by Maestro Kolesnyk, with the support of the Ukraine Millennium Foundation. No less than two hundred singers auditioned from Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan and only 40 were selected. Leonid is featured in 13 of the 35 concertos. The dream or original conception was to travel across the continent and beyond, but sadly, with Kolesnyk's death, this was not to occur.
In 1991, Roxolana was performed in Toronto. In 1993, the Dnipro Choir celebrated 40 years of song by commissioning a choral-symphonic work, the oratorio «Sacred Dnipro» by Valeri Kikta and librettist Sophia Maydanska. The world premiere of this oratorio was in Edmonton with Leonid singing the bass part. In 1996, the Canadian Ukrainian Opera Association, together with the Dnipro Choir performed the oratorio «Sacred Dnipro» in Massey Hall in Toronto on April 28, 1996. The live performance of that concert was recorded and the C.D.s are still available. This oratorio offers a panoramic view of the major epochs in the history of Ukraine, attempting to capture the indomitable spirit of the Ukrainian people. The executive producer of this effort was Toronto's Alla Shklar.
In 2002, Leonid sang the readings from the apostles for the nationally televised funeral of Ukrainian Canadian Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn. The millennium brought the release of the Sacred Dnipro C.D. in 2006.
He died on 8 June 2012 in Toronto, Canada.
Leonid had sister Nina (married to Andy) and their son Boris (Laura).
Leonid's first marriage was in 1969 to Sonia Skirko and included 3 children, Lesia (married to Scott), Taras (married to Sherry), Oleh, grandchildren — John, Fallon, Sam and Lucy.
Leonid was married in 2006 to Merika Graham Skirko.
Mykhailo H. Marunchak (1986). Biographical Dictionary to the History of Ukrainian Canadians. Ukrainian Academy of Arts and Sciences in Canada, Winnipeg.
Richard S. Warren (2002). Begins with the Oboe: A History of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-3588-4.


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Q: divide operation in hive tables I'm a beginner in hive and had some basic questions trying to manipulate a table.
I have a hive table as
bought  sold    fruit
5       0       apple
0       0       mango
3       2       orange

I want the output as
agg     fruit
0       apple
0       mango
1.5     orange

I'm writing an aggregate query as
SELECT sold/bought as agg, fruit from table GROUP BY fruit

I'm having two issues

*

*I want the solution to be proper ex 3/2 is giving me 1 it should give 1.5

*If bought or sold is 0, instead of Null or NaN it should give the value 0.

Any suggestions on how to achieve this. Thank you.

A: Hmmm.  I thought that Hive divided integers as floats.  If not, a simple solution is to multiply by 1.0:
SELECT sold * 1.0 / bought as agg, fruit
FROM table
GROUP BY fruit

A: I have seen erratic behaviours in hive or impala. To be on safe side i would use,
SELECT cast(sold as decimal(5,1)) / cast(bought as decimal(5,1)) as agg, fruit FROM table GROUP BY fruit
If you want to insert data into a decimal(5,1) column, cast result as decimal(5,1). i know this is stupid but i want to be safe and avoid unnecessary version specific automatic-casting issues. I have seen calculation producing null result in one version and works just fine in other.

A: Use a CASE expression where you apply your conditions:
select
  case
    when bought = 0 or sold = 0 then 0
    else 1.0 * bought / sold
  end agg,
  fruit
from tablename

Since you are not doing any aggregation there is no need for GROUP BY.