vincevincevince - 5:40 am on Nov 16, 2009 (gmt 0)

Google; they have clearly stated, in public, that they want to be removed from Google. So call their bluff; rip out all their results immediately whether they are in News, Web or even pages that just link to sites owned by Murdoch's empire. Disable Google Reader subscriptions to their feeds, block their blogs from blogsearch. For the avoidance of doubt, block them from using Adwords either. Warn Adsense publishers that linking to News Corp content is potential grounds for account cancellation.

Traffic will plummet and they will count their losses in millions, and when they ask for reinclusion, which they will, you have the upper hand and can make demands as to the longevity of unblocking and access. It would be foolish to wait for them to build a strong position from which to negotiate; take them by surprise and kick the stool from under them. That way when they go to Bing they go as a beggar not a chooser, when they try to sell subscriptions there will already be nobody watching to buy them, and nothing will look profitable to them other than returning to Google.