Microsoft’s not the only one backing billionaire investor Carl Icahn in his quest to unseat Yahoo’s leadership and board–major Yahoo investor Gordon Crawford told Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang in a face-to-face meeting last week that he was seriously considering voting against Yahoo in the looming proxy fight.

The troubled meeting that took place last Tuesday in Los Angeles between Capital Research Global Investors’ Crawford and Yang–accompanied by three Yahoo board members–could be seen as a portent of what is to come at the company’s annual meeting on August 1.

And those signs are definitely not good for Yahoo’s current leaders.

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So exactly when will Microsoft and Yahoo really start talking again?

Much sooner than later, if investors have their way.

While the pair have not had any substantive talks as yet, despite reports they had, I would expect pressure from those shareholders (if not a dose of sanity in the face of the Google juggernaut) will bring them to the table within the next week.

While the software giant has no interest in buying all of the Internet portal, under a scenario being suggested to Microsoft by major Yahoo shareholders, a more substantial search deal could effectively give Microsoft control over Yahoo.

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Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has been unusually quiet of late about his proxy fight against Yahoo, as shares of the troubled Internet concern dip dangerously closer to under $20 a share.

And with no Microsoft-Yahoo deal pending, he also must be pretty depressed right about now.

And even though his many irked letters to the Yahoo board and CEO Jerry Yang definitely came with a cup full of crazy, BoomTown finds we miss him.

Thus, it seems like a good time to repost two videos of the ornery shareholder activist cracking wise at Caroline’s Comedy Club in New York in 2003 about his bid for Texaco/Getty Oil lawsuit and also another about U.S. Steel.

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One might have hoped that the Apple iPhone 3G media Hypestar that descended on the tech news arena would have been able to drown out the irksome bickering that has seemingly become a daily occurrence between billionaire investor Carl Icahn and Yahoo via dueling public letters.

But no! And, unless Microsoft mercifully steps in and forks over $34 a share to rebid for all of Yahoo, it’s likely this playground-level of fighting will go on until August 1.

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Break out the sedatives, because Carl Icahn is getting mighty tetchy with Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang and the board of directors of the troubled Internet company!

In yet another letter to Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock, the ever-grumpier billionaire investor, who is waging a proxy fight against Yahoo and seeking to oust Yang and crew, he stepped up the volume to Crazy Eddie levels.

It’s almost too juicy to require translation, as the veins practically pop out in Icahn’s letter from all the agita he seems to be experiencing over this botched takeover.

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You would have to have been under a rock not to have heard about the controversial piece in Vanity Fair magazine this month about the troubling personal and professional escapades of former President Bill Clinton since he left office.

And the reason for these disturbing developments, besides Clinton himself? The piece actually placed a good bit of the blame on Clinton’s close friend, grocery magnate and billionaire Ron Burkle, who also has been one of the key directors at Yahoo in its takeover fight with Microsoft.

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In another micro-move in the fight between activist shareholders and CNET, the Delaware Supreme Court given the thumbs up to a lower court ruling that the Jana Partners group can nominate a slate of directors to the board of San Francisco-based tech news and reviews site.

CNET has been fighting these efforts by Jana–along with Sandell Asset Management, Alex Interactive Media, Spark Capital and Velocity Interactive Group–to nominate two director and expand the board and add more of their own nominees–claiming it was contrary to its bylaw.

Apparently not!

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As BoomTown reported on Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal is now reporting that Microsoft and Yahoo have been chatting away informally, after a week of faux-wrestling.

It’s been like WrestleMania, except without the excitement and anticipation. Also, no cool names or outfits.

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Finally, the rumble has moved from letters to numbers, as a major Yahoo shareholder, legendary portfolio manager Bill Miller of Legg Mason, has publicly backed the Internet giant in its takeover tussle with Microsoft. And exactly what does Miller–whose fund only holds Yahoo shares and not those of Microsoft too, as do many big shareholders of Yahoo–want?

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Let’s be clear on one thing: We won’t be getting any financial information out of the company about Facebook’s performance or the slate of its shareholders until it’s good and ready to hand it over.
That’s because, although it has been widely reported, the hot social network will not fall under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s [...]

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