His admiration for "strong’ leaders (dictators) starts to take shape. Supplying weapons to Ukraine to fight military aggression doesn’t seem appropriate when you can simply try to outdo Putin at his own game.

Julius Caesar did this… it is not a new pattern.

If you want the job, go back. If they don’t want to deal with a fragile person then it is up to them to fire you. Next time just say “I don’t know” and keep flipping burgers.

So are we at peak DeBeers?

Mint.

General pickyness: Linux is a kernel, not an operating system. For example, Android and Mint are both operating systems that use Linux, but the way you interact with Android is dramatically different than the way you interact with Mint.

My WAG would be that they need more busywork for the prisoners.

Isn’t this basically the plot of “Home Alone” and it’s very popular sequels playing out with a firearm? With FPS games as the cultural backdrop, why is anyone shocked at this? Or is this just hand-wringing?

No.

If you ever so carefully paint yourself into a corner then the corner is where you will be stuck. How badly do you want out of your corner?

There are FOSS and SAAS options that could work if you wanted them to… but whether they will depends on you.

Meat eaters trying to become vegetarian for ethical reasons often fail because the “un-meat” options out there don’t meet their standards. Success almost always requires some letting go and re-adjusting. If you are not open to that then don’t force yourself to put up with something you don’t really want.

I stopped buying phones from carriers 15 years ago for this very reason.