Obivously, this example is weaker, but I think without a presence in Europe, it would be (more) difficult to do business there - potentially giving rise to any competitor who WOULD be willing to go through with this and would therefore be in a better position to serve the markets here (don't think about the search itself, think about the advertising that makes their income!).
Unless the European people would prefer to use a search engine that actually has some relevant results to give out. Then they will prefer to use the US search engine rather than the limited and useless European search engine. And spending time and effort to prune much of your database out and ensure it does not get re-indexed does not sound like something that would put a company in a "better position" as you put it. To me that sounds like a large cost and since your results are incomplete you are actually at a competitive disadvantage also.
How shoelaces work to keep our shoes on our feet,
Here is a Ted Talk on how you are probably tying your shoelaces wrong. Did you know there are two versions of that knot. One is the strong version and the other is the weak version. Most people learn to tie the weak version. The weak version also causes the bows to align along the long axis of the shoe instead of lying across the shoe as it should.
but it annoys me enough to type this to see people hit 1-3-0, when 9-0 works just as well.
Of course, 8-8 would be close enough to 9-0 to work and be quicker to enter also.
On top of that, I'm certain other directors, musicians, or actors have had regret or embarrassment about previous works, and would like to change the past. But they don't, and know why they shouldn't. Filmmaking contains a certain element of preservation. To capture the time and era the film came out in, and leave all nuances intact. Yet another reason why film colorization for classic films is more often rejected than not.
Honestly, Lucas disrespected his own work as an artist and a director by changing it. It would be akin to Paul McCartney wanting to change the lyrics on the White Album decades later because he's had a political change of heart (ironically I'm talking about the man who wrote "Let it Be"). Any backlash Lucas gets is deserved.
The most crazy thing about Lucas making such drastic changes to his movies is that he agrees with you that it shouldn't be done. He has been a big proponent of keeping black and white films in their original. george lucas on colorization He argues that everybody else should keep the movies as they were originally made, but when it comes to his own movies that does not apply.
So the contrast is, "Thing which has happened to aircraft several times before", versus "Bizarre conspiracy by shadowy forces". I prefer the odds of the former until there's actual evidence of the latter.
I would tend to agree with you but there is one point I'd like to make. When the number of "Bizarre conspiracies by shadowy forces" that have been confirmed true by leaks starts to go up into higher numbers it makes you rethink anything about the official story as being possibly true.
Do you suffer painful elimination? -- Don Knuth, "Structured Programming with Gotos"