Assuming Youtube video IDs are unique even in the case of removal, we could just create a URN space for Youtube, say urn:google:youtube:<video id>. Another opti

Assuming Youtube video IDs are unique even in the case of removal, we could just create a URN space for Youtube, say urn:google:youtube:<video id>. Another option would be a content-bassed hash, but that would make quality variations of the same video unrelated. Once you switch to a permanent resource identifier, you don't need to rely on Google for locating the video anymore. That won't replace Youtube as the massive video store it is, which is probably not a (financially, legally) feasible undertaking even on a national level, but at least you untangled one part of the kludge.