Dan Winterland,
A frighteningly accurate post.
As I read it, I found myself chuckling, particularly at the "wake-up call going off 20 min after you have fallen asleep" bit. Last time in New York, your timeline is almost exactly what happened to me. I am about to go eastbound now with an 8hr time change, though thankfully with a longer slip which helps with the sleep.
The cumulative effects of duties like this should not be underestimated when it comes to functioning well on the flight deck. However, the more enlightened airlines recognise this to some extent and put in place SOPs to prevent the kind of error that appears to have been made here. If those SOPs are not adhered to, then the crew are on thin ice when it comes to any subsequent incident.
FF