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All candidates for Illinois judicial offices in the Feb. 2 primary election have been rated by Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) evaluation committees, or in a poll conducted by ISBA.

Results are available on-line at isba.org/YouBeTheJudge.

In Cook County, an ISBA Judicial Evaluations committee used the results of a questionnaire and interviews to rate candidates for all judicial offices.

Candidates for the Appellate Court outside Cook County were also evaluated.

In counties outside Cook, an advisory poll is conducted by mail and sent to all ISBA members in the circuit or district from which a candidate seeks election.

Licensed attorneys who are not members of ISBA may request a ballot.

“Through these polls and evaluations, voters are provided the opportunity and responsibility of selecting qualified individuals to serve as judges to assure effective administration of our system of justice,” said John O’Brien, of Arlington Heights, president of the Illinois State Bar Association.

“I encourage voters to consider these poll results when deciding how to vote on February 2.”

The 35,000-member ISBA, with offices in Springfield and Chicago, provides professional services to Illinois lawyers, and education and services to the public.

As we know, XDA-Developers will be adding new non-HTC devices to their line-up.  The question is of course which device to add first.

Hey Everyone,
As mentioned in my earlier post (please read if you have not yet already), we are considering adding non-HTC forums to the site, and are curious to hear which ones should be first. We’re considering devices such as the Motorola Droid/CLIQ, plus the Samsung Omnia II and/or Acer neoTouch. What are your thoughts? We’re listening!

Now I understand the Acer Liquid Android guys are making a strong push to get their phone at XDA-Dev by rousing supporters from Android forums, but I think great devices like the Samsung Omnia 2 deserve it much more, and XDA-Dev is at its heart a Windows Mobile forum after all.

So if you want to see a Windows Mobile device rather than Android added to XDA-Dev, let your voice known in this thread here.

by Kevin Jon Heller

The Trial Chamber has granted certification to appeal its decision upholding the Registry’s selection of Richard Harvey as stand-by counsel. Here are the relevant paragraphs:

10. With regard to the first limb that must be met before certification to appeal can be granted under Rule 73(B) of the Rules, the Chamber notes that the Decision Denying Motion to Vacate concerned the process by which the Registrar appointed Richard Harvey, and in that Decision, the Chamber found that if the Registrar’s decision was flawed and/or illegal because he had not followed the proper procedure, this would inevitably affect the Accused’s fair trial rights and thus the propriety of the procedure was a matter that goes to the fairness of his trial. For the same reasons, with regard to the Application, the Chamber is of the view that as the procedural propriety of the Registrar’s decision-making process may impact upon the Accused’s rights, the Decision Denying Motion to Vacate involves an issue that would significantly affect the fair conduct of the proceedings or the outcome of the trial.

11. With regard to the second limb of Rule 73(B), the Chamber notes that the trial is set to resume on 1 March 2010. The role and functions of Richard Harvey at that time remain to be seen and are dependent on the Accused’s behaviour. However, as there is a possibility that Richard Harvey may be required to represent the interests of the Accused at trial, it is clearly desirable for the matter of the propriety of his appointment by the Registrar to be resolved immediately, and not at the end of the trial when it may raise the prospect of a re-trial. Therefore, the Chamber is satisfied that an immediate resolution by the Appeals Chamber of the validity of the manner in which Richard Harvey was appointed may materially advance the proceedings.

I’m delighted the Trial Chamber has finally been convinced that our challenge is not premature simply because Harvey has not yet been appointed actual counsel.  As we have been pointing out for weeks, it makes no sense to appoint stand-by counsel who could not be appointed actual counsel.  So it is in everyone’s interest to resolve the issue now.

The certification decision is here.  My post explaining — ad nauseum — why the Trial Chamber’s original decision is flawed can be found here.  I will post our appeal brief as soon as it is filed.

Motions for certification to appeal are strange creatures.  I’m not sure why the judges thought it would be a good idea to require the parties to ask the Trial Chamber for permission to appeal its own decisions.  But at least the judges did the right thing here and certified our appeal.  I’m rarely optimistic about our motions, but I can’t see how the Appeals Chamber can possibly endorse the Registry’s jerry-rigged selection of Harvey and the Trial Chamber’s hear-no-evil, see-no-evil “review” of that selection.

He’s part fighter, part pitch man. Herschel Walker is making the media rounds in New York Wednesday and Thursday. That was after doing so in Miami on Tuesday on 790 The Ticket (Audio) and WQAM (Audio). The 47-year-old Heisman Trophy winner, who makes his MMA debut Jan. 30 in Sunrise, Fla., has been all over television and radio. There’s more to come the week of the fight which by no accident was placed the day before the Pro Bowl and the arrival of the participants in Super Bowl 44.

Walker participated in a press conference with his trainer Javier Mendez (American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose). He also appeared on the Howard Stern Show and Fox & Friends (Video).

Thursday, he hits ESPN:

Thursday, Jan. 14 on ESPN First Take on ESPN2 at 11:40 a.m. ET/8:40 a.m. PT

Thursday, Jan. 14 on ESPNews at 2:10 p.m. ET/11:10 a.m. PT

Thursday, Jan. 14 on The Scott Van Pelt Show on ESPN Radio and ESPN2 at 3:25 p.m. ET/12:25 p.m. PT

Let’s hope they can match Cagewriter’s brilliant conversation with Walker just before Strikeforce: Evolution.

The media tour is working. Walker is the fifth most searched topic on Yahoo! as of 5:15 p.m. ET. That said, is anyone else hoping that this doesn’t turn into a complete PR disaster for MMA on fight night?  

Our favorite Ivy-Leaguers are back and looking to avoid the sophomore slump that has plagued so many other bands. Vampire Weekend, however, seems impervious to damage with Contra, as they take their upper west side soweto to another level with their second album. Toting their dictionaries along with their collection of madras, the Columbia grads have assembled yet another energetic indie-rock album that boasts a unique collaboration of sounds and instruments; their Paul Simon 2.0 sound will truly make you wish it were summer already. Buy it on vinyl and be sure not to skip ‘White Sky, their second track on the album.

Climateer Investing links to a short-term outlook from the Energy Information Association that projects natural gas consumption to remain relatively flat:

EIA expects the annual average natural gas Henry Hub spot price for 2010 to be $5.36 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf), a $1.30-per-Mcf increase over the 2009 average of $4.06 per Mcf.  The price will continue to increase in 2011, averaging $6.12 per Mcf for the year.

Continue reading here.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Natural Gas Companies Fleeing Back To Oil After Exxon Dives Into Their Turf
• Natural Gas Bid Prices Double In Pennsylvania Auction

The proposed $3 billion petroleum coke-fired Las Brisas power plant in Corpus Christi suffered another setback Friday when the executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) said two significant environmental questions were not adequately answered by the plant's permit application.

The agency's own Executive Director (ED) recommended to remand the application for additional data. This follows hard on the heels of a brief by the TCEQ's internal Office of Public Interest Counsel (OPIC), which last month recommended denial of the permit for a list of reasons that closely mirrored those outlined in our own Environmental Defense Fund brief in permit hearings last fall.

In replying to our brief, TCEQ's executive director recommended that the application be sent back for a better analysis of the potential air pollution resulting from the dockside handling of enormous quantities of pet coke and limestone for the plant. He also agreed that the applicant's emissions modeling for the plant was flawed and should be revisited.

EDF's attorney, Tom Weber, said the agency’s filing was encouraging, but he said there are other serious problems with the Las Brisas application that aren't being addressed. "We're pleased that the TCEQ’s executive director recognizes the clear deficiencies in Las Brisas’ application regarding modeling of pollutant emissions," Weber said. "However, Las Brisas’ application should also be denied because it fails to analyze whatsoever hazardous air pollutants and particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns, both of which can cause significant health problems especially in children and senior citizens."

Still, the executive director's reply brief represents a second setback for the Las Brisas application from within TCEQ itself and should make it very difficult for the three-member commission to approve the application unless a number of serious problems with the carbon-intensive plant are first addressed.

During the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission’s second panel of the day, I got a real treat: an introduction to Kyle Bass. He’s a managing partner at Hayman Advisors. He’s also, by far, the smartest person I’ve heard testify all day. And that includes the CEOs of four of the most major banks. His testimony is worth noting.

I also managed to catch Mr. Bass on an interview with CNBC this morning. That video is included at the end of this post. His written testimony before the commission can be found here (.pdf).

I just wanted to excerpt a few parts, however, because it’s so valuable. He’s highly concerned about leverage, as am I. I’ve said before that leverage was the reason why we had a crisis. Bass explains:

A fundamental tenet of the US banking system is leverage. Using current regulatory guidelines, banks are deemed “well capitalized” with 6% Tier 1 capital and “adequately capitalized” with 4% Tier 1 capital based upon risk weighted assets (as an aside, the concept of risk weighted assets should also be reviewed). This in turn means a well capitalized bank is levered 16X to its Tier 1 capital (much more to its tangible common equity) and an adequately capitalized bank is 25X levered to its Tier 1 capital. How many prudent individuals or institutions can possibly manage a portfolio of assets that is 25X levered? Again, unfortunately, the answer has turned out to be not many. Of the 170 banks that have failed during this crisis, the average loss to the FDIC is well over 25% of assets, or more importantly 6 times their minimum levels of regulatory equity. Depository institutions like Citibank were able to parlay their deposits into large levered bets in the derivatives marketplace. In fact, at fiscal year‐end 2007, Citigroup was 68.4X levered to its tangible common equity, including off‐balance sheet exposures. According to the following table, real leverage at the institutions in question got completely out of hand:

(click on chart for a legible version)

I couldn’t agree more with Bass on this one. Even if you ignore the final row above and just look at “Gross Leverage to Tangible Common Equity,” those are clearly dangerous levels. Look at Citi. It was leveraged 68.4%. That means for every $68.4 dollars it had at risk, it had $1 of cushion. Put another way, if its assets incurred just 3% losses, it will have eaten through its capital, twice.

Realize: this guy is a private sector financial advisor who managed to make these calculations based on public filings. If he could do it, what was preventing the regulators like the Federal Reserve from doing so? And if regulators knew leverage was at such ludicrous levels, why were they so comfortable? Was there no conceivable scenario where Citi could suffer, say, 2% losses and blow through all of its capital?

In fact, in responding to questions today before the commission, Bass explains that he also calculated that, even if the housing prices just remained flat — not declining — for several years, the loses to some mortgage securities created by Wall Street would be catastrophic. He brought these concerns to Bear Sterns prior to its failure. Its bankers were unimpressed. Then he talked to a Federal Reserve official — one of the guys who want more regulatory power to oversee systemic risk. He also dismissed it. The Fed explained its economists believed that home prices would continue to rise, because economic indicators were good. Sure, Bass was only one data point, but his argument was compelling.

Here’s another amazing excerpt about Fannie and Freddie, which he spends a few pages of his testimony on:

Fannie and Freddie used the most leverage of any institution that issued mortgages or held mortgage backed bonds. At one point in 2007, Fannie was over 95X levered to its statutory minimum capital with just 18 basis points set aside for losses. That’s right, 18 one hundredths of one percent set aside for potential losses. They must not be able to put humpty dumpty back together again.

If you have the time and interest, I’d strongly suggest you look at all of Bass’ testimony. It’s enlightening stuff. He also addresses derivatives reform and several other topics. I’m more impressed by his understanding of finance, economics and global markets than pretty much anyone I’ve ever heard on CNBC. Here’s that video:

Way back when Friendster was the super hot social networking startup with an unworkable business model, there was suddenly a rush of rumors that the company was going to start charging for use. Even though the company never suggested plans to charge, there was an outcry among users — and I remember getting messages from people threatening to boycott Friendster if it ever did charge. In fact, many people started suggesting alternatives… with MySpace being a key one. It wasn’t long after this episode that many people really did start migrating over to MySpace. Later on there were reports that the “rumors” about Friendster charging were actually started (and then spread) by MySpace employees. And it worked.

It looks like someone may be trying to pull the same trick with Facebook. Apparently a bunch of rumors have been spreading about Facebook planning to charge, resulting in huge protest groups in Facebook, and the company needing to make a public denial of any plans to charge. In Facebook’s case, this is even more believable because the company claims that it’s already profitable from existing ad sales. And, knowing how Facebook operates, I can’t see anyone there seriously considering charging for use. They know the idea is preposterous and would destroy the site.

So the only thing I’m wondering is who kicked off these rumors? Is it another social network? Is it MySpace again trying to regain relevance? Or was it really just another malware scam to get people to click on unsafe links, that then resulted in a misguided panic?

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A shocker but a move five years too late: Rob Glaser, the founder and CEO of RealNetworks (NSDQ: RNWK), is stepping down as the leader of the company after 16 years. The pioneering online video company has appointed Robert Kimball, who till now was the corp EVP, as president and acting CEO; he has also been appointed to the board. A formal search for a new CEO will start now, and Kimball will be a candidate as well, a RealNetworks’ spokesperson tells me. Glaser will remain as the chairman of the board; he is also the single largest shareholder of the company.

The company said Glaser will step away from day-to-day activities, and focus on spending time with family, and his various philanthropic and political interests. He is a big democratic supporter and one of the founders of Air America, among others. I would not be surprised to see him running for some public office someday soon.

Staci adds: When I last saw Glaser Friday evening, he was pulling an overnight bag through The Palazzo in Las Vegas, headed first to a party and then home to his wife, who is expecting their third child, and his young twins. He was exhausted and exhilarated at the same time, ticking off all the meetings he’d accomplished during a quick couple of days. Not even a glimmer of a sign that he was ready to stop the day-to-day drill (which I find hard to believe is possible) or that he was even considering it. Strictly business as usual.

So did he jump or was he pushed? Over at All Things D, John Paczkowski citing unidentified sources says, yes, the board told Glaser it was time to go and he finally agreed. I’m getting calls suggesting the same.  It wouldn’t be the first time a board has had to tell an entrepreneur he’s not the best one to run his company. Maybe more boards should do just that. Real insists this is Glaser’s choice.

It’s the second senior executive change for Real in as many days. The company announced Tuesday that COO John Giamatteo is leaving effective April 2, but says the two moves are unrelated. (The decision on whether to replace him is pending.) Not everyone is convinced. I’ve heard from multiple people who believe that was the last straw in some way.
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SEATTLE – January 13, 2010   Digital entertainment services company RealNetworks, Inc., (Nasdaq: RNWK) announced today that founder Rob Glaser has stepped down as CEO.  He will remain chairman of the board of directors of RealNetworks.  The company also announced that its board of directors has appointed Robert Kimball president and acting chief executive officer.  The board also appointed Mr. Kimball to the board of directors. 

“After nearly 16 years, I’ve decided it’s time for me to step away from day-to-day operations,” said Glaser.  “I’m grateful to all of our stakeholders – customers, partners, shareholders, and most of all, employees – for the support and commitment they’ve given to RealNetworks.  I remain committed to the company and look forward to continuing to serve in my capacity as board chairman.”

In February 1994, Mr. Glaser founded what was then known as Progressive Networks, a pioneer in the field of digital audio and video technology for the Internet.  Under his leadership, Real has grown into a multinational company, providing digital entertainment products and services to hundreds of millions of consumers around the world.

“Few people have changed an industry and created a unique experience for billions of people,” said Jonathan Klein, a board member of RealNetworks and the co-founder and CEO of Getty Images (NYSE: GYI).  “Rob has changed the face of digital entertainment with RealNetworks’ streaming media products.  At the same time Rob has had a profound impact on politics and philanthropy.  I’m sure he will continue to do this extraordinary work as well as spending time with his wife and young children.  We are grateful for all he has done for the company, the industry and employees, and are pleased that he will continue to serve on the board.”

Bob Kimball joined the company in 1999 and has been a member of the senior executive team since 2003. He most recently served as general counsel and executive vice president of corporate development at Real. “In the decade he’s been at Real, Bob has proven to be an outstanding business executive and leader, and under his leadership the company won’t skip a beat,” said Mr. Glaser. “Our board has great confidence in Bob, and he will be a candidate for the permanent CEO position as part of a formal search process that will begin soon.”

“I look forward to the opportunity ahead,” said Mr. Kimball.  “Real has a great team in place, a strong financial position, close customer relationships and fantastic products.  We plan to transform Real into a more focused and more profitable company that delivers value to our shareholders.”

Related

• RealNetworks’ Management Change: Memo From Rob Glaser
• RealNetworks’ Management Change: Memo From Acting CEO