That's what I thought also...Google knows the links are there, personally I think they have a hidden relevancy factor much more sophisticated then Yahoo. Google recognizes the links, how could it not see a link coming in? But, I think places more weight on the relevancy of that link outside of just being a solid PR. Jyst my thoughts from a humble marketer.
Google has a system that trawls through websites and finds your links if they are not on nofollow websites
If your not using webmaster tools to see what is and isn't linking to your site, you need to be. The Google Webmaster tool is easy to use and provides a clear picture of the incoming links to your site.