Twittering Has Become An Issue In The Courtroom!

Some jurors are causing problems because they are discussing the cases that they are deliberating outside of the deliberation room.That is an absolute no-no,right?! Well,normally that would be cause for a juror to be removed.But,it's the way that these jurors are talking about the cases that they are supposed to be deciding that makes this a gray issue.There are no rules about posting messages on social networking sites,yet.Folks are twittering about the cases that they are involved in & that's an issue that judges are having to deal with.Here's more from BBC News:

"The verdicts in two US trials are being appealed against because jurors made comments about them on social networking sites.

Defence lawyers in the two cases say postings by jurors on sites like Twitter and Facebook could be grounds for appeal.

Jurors are forbidden to discuss anything relating to a case outside the deliberation room.

But experts say the emergence of new technologies is challenging the rules."(END OF EXCERPT)Read the rest here.

AIG Issues:The Biggest Corporate Loss In History & Bonus Outrage!

I'm sure that you've heard by now that AIG paid out $165 million in bonuses to the very same folks who brought the company down.We have bailed these people out 4 freakin' times!And they get to reward themselves for the ultimate failure! WTF?!!!

AIG better beef up their security because the anger towards them is more than palpable.There is also a lingering question that the Obama administration has to grapple with.How come they didn't know about these bonuses before they bailed AIG out for the umpteenth time? All contracts should have been looked at & renegotiated when Tim Geithner spoke to the CEO of AIG last week & gave them another $170 million!The auto industry had to jump through hoops for their bailout money!Why isn't that the case here?

Here's more on this sheer madness from Politico:

"AIG is turning out to be one of the White House's biggest headaches. Allowing it to fail would send catastrophic ripples through the economy – because AIG’s complex insurance contracts are intertwined with almost every financial player in the global economy.

It is truly “too big to fail” – because it’s failure would mean that banks that are relying on AIG to back up their bad investments would suddenly be on the hook themselves. That’s why when the company first showed signs of stress last fall, the Bush administration was quick to move in to shore it up, arguing that the collapse of AIG could spark a world-wide calamity.

But in many ways, it’s also one of the hardest bailouts for Obama to defend – since it was AIG’s insurance policies on exotic investments that freed up banks to make some of their riskiest bets, bets that went sour and touched off the global meltdown.

AIG reported this month that it had lost $61.7 billion for the fourth quarter of last year, the largest corporate loss in history.

Also adding to the political complications for Obama is a revelation Sunday that billions of American taxpayer dollars used to bailout AIG flowed to some of the largest foreign banks in the world. Some of the biggest recipients of AIG payouts were European banks, such as Societe Generale in France and Deutsche Bank of Germany, which got nearly $12 billion each.

In an interview aired Sunday on CBS's "60 Minutes," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said: "Of all the events and all of the things we've done in the last 18 months, the single one that makes me the angriest, that gives me the most angst, is the intervention with AIG."

"Here was a company that made all kinds of unconscionable bets," Bernanke said. "Then, when those bets went wrong, they had a-- we had a situation where the failure of that company would have brought down the financial system. ... I slammed the phone more than a few times on discussing AIG. ... I understand why the American people are angry."

Here is the president’s text:

Before I talk about the new steps we’re taking to get credit flowing to small businesses across our country, I want to comment on the news about executive bonuses at AIG.

This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed.

Under these circumstances, it’s hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165 million in extra pay. How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?

In the last six months, AIG has received substantial sums from the US Treasury. I’ve asked Secretary Geithner to use that leverage and pursue every legal avenue to block these bonuses and make the American taxpayers whole.

I know he’s working to resolve this matter with the new CEO, Edward Liddy, who came on board after the contracts that led to these bonuses were agreed to last year."(END OF EXCERPT)Read the article in its entirety here.

The Beautiful Widow Of Sammy Davis Jr. Has Joined Her Him On The Other Side!

I remember hearing about Altovise Davis's financial issues after Sammy Davis Jr. died.They were so immense that it was rumored that she tried to commit suicide.Here's an excerpt from a 1990 People magazine article on that very trying time for Altovise Davis:

"The mourners who once thronged outside the iron gate to pay their respects have long since gone, and the black, custom-made Cadillac station wagon sits on the circular driveway shrouded in a canvas tarp, as if to emphasize that he is no longer there to drive it.

There has been a pall, it seems, for the past four months over the house on Summit Drive, ever since performing great Sammy Davis Jr. died of throat cancer last May at age 64. "I know when he died he wanted me to celebrate his life," says his widow, Alto-vise, who was his wife for 20 years. "But I didn't see it that way. How could I?"

Now that the initial shock of his passing is gone, Altovise, 42, has even less cause for joy. After a tabloid report that a bodyguard found her unconscious last summer from an overdose of alcohol and pills, the onetime dancer now faces the prospect of raising the couple's recently adopted son, Manny, alone. She must also untangle a complicated financial skein: making good on the raft of charitable bequests in Davis's will and facing IRS charges that he owed $4.5 million in back taxes as a result of what Alto-vise's attorney, Vasilios Choulos, calls questionable shelter investments.

Altovise, who has admitted to her own past bout with alcoholism, adamantly denies the report that she tried to kill herself last July. "It wasn't true. I don't take drugs. I do drink," she says. "But I want to live for my husband, for my son, for the kids. I think the rumors started because, in the beginning, after his death. I didn't go out."

But she does not minimize her financial burden, which includes not only the IRS tab but also a $2.5 million mortgage on her Beverly Hills home. "If all obligations were met." says Choulos. "that would wipe out 80 percent of the estate." According to Altovise, Davis had hoped that the 11-country tour with Frank Sinatra and Liza Minnelli that he launched a year and a half before his death would earn enough to settle his debts. "Sammy thought the tour would solve a lot of problems," says Altovise. "He was very honest about it. Even when he had the throat cancer, we thought he'd get better, get through it and finish the tour."

Ultimately he did not."(END OF EXCERPT)Read the entire article here.

Altovise Davis was still entangled in money-related issues when she died on Mar.14 at the age of 65.Here's more on that from CBC News.ca:

"When the tax liability was settled in 1997, she set about restoring Sammy Davis Jr.'s legacy, organizing a musical touring show called Mr. Bojangles: The Ultimate Entertainer in 2006.

Last year, she sued two former business associates for the rights to her husband's life story and the management of his legacy.

She claimed they tricked her into ceding some of the rights to his estate, and asked for unspecified monetary and punitive damages. The suit is still pending."(END OF EXCERPT)Read the rest here.

Now,Altovise Davis will no longer be plagued by financial difficulties because she has moved on from all of that.May she find peace & happiness on the other side.