I had always theorized that they did this, but the point of what I said is that I don't think they are anymore, at least not unless they are reporting it via AJ

I had always theorized that they did this, but the point of what I said is that I don't think they are anymore, at least not unless they are reporting it via AJAX or something. The links on the SERP now go directly to the source without going through the redirect. They are probably doing away with that previous system because it is too vulnerable to scamming, for example getting a bunch of people to click and then back out of the competitor's site so that way you can be on top in the search results.