• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, June 9, 2008

Yahoo and disgruntled board member Carl Icahn are continuing their very public tiff, with Icahn continuing to try to force a Microsoft buyout while Yahoo's board insists it has the company's best interests at heart.

Today, Yahoo again urged shareholders to reject a slate put together by Icahn. "Mr. Icahn has no credible plan except to sell the company to Microsoft -- despite the fact that Microsoft has publicly indicated that it has no current interest in such a transaction," Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock and CEO Jerry Yang said in a letter to shareholders. "Under the leadership of the current board and management team we are executing on our strategy to create value."

The letter was short on details, but Yahoo has spent much of the last few months trying to prove it's worth more than the $33 per share Microsoft reportedly offered. Just last week, Yahoo came out with a slew of new ad initiatives -- a move clearly aimed at sending the message that the company is still a major player online.

Icahn this morning wrote a letter of his own to Bostock, condemning the company again for a "poison pill" strategy that, he says, made it less valuable to Microsoft. "How can you continue to repeat that your severance plan is in the best interests of shareholders and employees?" he asks. "Indeed, Yahoo!'s own compensation advisor called the severance plan 'nuts.' "

Bostock also took aim at Yang. "Perhaps most importantly, under my plan, I would ask the Board to bring in a talented and experienced CEO to replace Jerry Yang and return Jerry to his role as 'Chief Yahoo!' " he wrote.

He then compared Google to Yahoo, arguing that "Google hired a great operator as CEO who helped to transform the Company into a giant at the expense of Yahoo!"

But surely Google's financial success hasn't been solely due to its CEO. Google also has a search engine that many Web users prefer to Yahoo's. To whatever extent Google's search engine is better than its rivals, that's due to its technology. Even if Yahoo brings on a CEO with an operations background, as Icahn suggests, that's no guarantee that the company will create better products.

Regardless, this feud between Icahn and the board shows no signs of letting up until, at the earliest, Yahoo's next shareholder meeting. That event is scheduled for Aug. 1 -- almost six months to the day since Microsoft sparked this ongoing drama with its public offer to purchase Yahoo.