A very good post by fdr at 308, I think. There is a complacency in the media and public that aviation is regulated to the highest standards and is safe, and so swallow the bait when any CEO trots out the line that the company operates to the legal criteria. I too have faced the wrath of a Chief Pilot when I was grounded by a doctor for chronic fatigue and refused to let crewing sign me of as sick instead of fatigued. The industry will punish those who do the right thing in this instance, and the authorities are wilfully turning a blind eye.
The authorities don't seem interested that limits are now targets, and that there are many ingenious re(mis)-interpretations or subtle floutings of regulations. Look at the disinterested replies in Chirp to see the casual disregard for safety by the authorities... No wonder fatigue events are rarely reported, with disdain form the authorities and punishment from management, why would anyone put their neck on the block with no chance of positive change and every chance of retribution?
The FTL schemes also seem to have been written with long haul in mind and provide little protection for multi-sector days, especially in airlines who give little ground support to their crews at ill-equipped minor airports.