Tiego

Sometimes // [email protected]

[Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600]

When I am making claims that Australia is becoming a more unequal society, I always point to South Africa and Brazil as societies without a functioning middle class. This chart shows wealth inequality by country. A quintessential question of our time is whether we want a middle class or not - currently we are actively shrinking it across the Western world. Source: https://t.co/j9lFB4tQvW

[Peace Through Trade @PTT_Blockchain]

Ivory Coast grows almost half the world's cocoa. 🤯

Almost every chocolate bar you've ever eaten probably started there.

Right now, 700,000 tons of it is sitting in warehouses. Unsold. Unpaid. Rotting.

Not because demand disappeared, but because global prices shifted, multinational buyers stopped purchasing, and the farmers who actually grew it have no way to sell to anyone else.

❌ They don't set the price.
❌ They don't choose the buyer.
❌ They don't have access to the market.

They just grow the product, hand it off, and hope the system works, but it doesn't always work.

Some of these farmers haven't been paid in two months. Some had to destroy their own harvest because it went bad before anyone came to buy it.

This is what global trade actually looks like for the people at the bottom of it. The world runs on what they produce, but they have zero direct connection to the economy that profits from it.

A farmer in Duekoue can grow a product that ends up on shelves in Paris and New York, but can't sell it to a single buyer without going through a chain of middlemen, government councils, and commodity exchanges in cities he'll never set foot in.

When any one link in that chain breaks, he's the one who doesn't eat.

This is the gap nobody talks about.

Not access to information. Not access to the internet. Access to trade. The ability to participate directly in the economy your labor already supports.

That's what needs to change.

[Jostein Hauge @haugejostein]

The idea that developing countries can skip industrialization — and instead develop based on services — is fundamentally misguided.

Except for very small countries, *every* country that has transformed its economy from low- to high-income has done so via manufacturing.

[Lusibalukhulu 🖍 @feziledhlamini_]

Why “ape” is their go-to “insult”

Because it’s not really an insult. It’s a receipt from history.

Calling Black people “apes” is one of the oldest racist moves in the book: dehumanisation. If you can convince yourself someone is less human, you don’t have to wrestle with empathy, fairness, or the fact that you might be wrong. It’s not clever. It’s not original. It’s basically the linguistic version of showing up to a debate with a vuvuzela and acting like you won.

And they think it’s “life-changing” because:
It’s designed to hurt, not to argue. There’s no intellectual overhead, just emotional vandalism.
It signals membership. Like a gang handshake, but for people whose hobby is being a disappointing bunch.
It gets reactions. Troll math is simple: “If I can make you angry, I feel powerful for five seconds.”

So no, it’s not a “strong” insult. It’s a weak person’s shortcut to feeling big.

Why do they use pseudo accounts?

Because racism is brave… until it needs a name and a face.

Anonymous or burner accounts give them:
1. Plausible deniability (“It was just a joke.” The national anthem of cowards.)
2. Safety from consequences: jobs, friends, family, reputational damage.
3. Freedom to escalate without accountability.

Are they ashamed? Often, yes, or at least aware. Some of them know their views don’t survive daylight. Others just want to do maximum harm with minimum risk. Same energy as throwing a rock and then sprinting away like a startled raccoon.

[Peter Girnus 🦅 @gothburz]

Last quarter I rolled out Microsoft Copilot to 4,000 employees.

$30 per seat per month.

$1.4 million annually.

I called it "digital transformation."

The board loved that phrase.

They approved it in eleven minutes.

No one asked what it would actually do.

Including me.

I told everyone it would "10x productivity."

That's not a real number.

But it sounds like one.

HR asked how we'd measure the 10x.

I said we'd "leverage analytics dashboards."

They stopped asking.

Three months later I checked the usage reports.

47 people had opened it.

12 had used it more than once.

One of them was me.

I used it to summarize an email I could have read in 30 seconds.

It took 45 seconds.

Plus the time it took to fix the hallucinations.

But I called it a "pilot success."

Success means the pilot didn't visibly fail.

The CFO asked about ROI.

I showed him a graph.

The graph went up and to the right.

It measured "AI enablement."

I made that metric up.

He nodded approvingly.

We're "AI-enabled" now.

I don't know what that means.

But it's in our investor deck.

A senior developer asked why we didn't use Claude or ChatGPT.

I said we needed "enterprise-grade security."

He asked what that meant.

I said "compliance."

He asked which compliance.

I said "all of them."

He looked skeptical.

I scheduled him for a "career development conversation."

He stopped asking questions.

Microsoft sent a case study team.

They wanted to feature us as a success story.

I told them we "saved 40,000 hours."

I calculated that number by multiplying employees by a number I made up.

They didn't verify it.

They never do.

Now we're on Microsoft's website.

"Global enterprise achieves 40,000 hours of productivity gains with Copilot."

The CEO shared it on LinkedIn.

He got 3,000 likes.

He's never used Copilot.

None of the executives have.

We have an exemption.

"Strategic focus requires minimal digital distraction."

I wrote that policy.

The licenses renew next month.

I'm requesting an expansion.

5,000 more seats.

We haven't used the first 4,000.

But this time we'll "drive adoption."

Adoption means mandatory training.

Training means a 45-minute webinar no one watches.

But completion will be tracked.

Completion is a metric.

Metrics go in dashboards.

Dashboards go in board presentations.

Board presentations get me promoted.

I'll be SVP by Q3.

I still don't know what Copilot does.

But I know what it's for.

It's for showing we're "investing in AI."

Investment means spending.

Spending means commitment.

Commitment means we're serious about the future.

The future is whatever I say it is.

As long as the graph goes up and to the right.

[ICC @ICC]

South Africa stun India in a high-scoring thriller in Raipur to level the ODI series 🔥

#INDvSA 📝: https://t.co/b4ectUVL0T

[SA National Defence Force 🇿🇦 @SANDF_ZA]

National Team Call-Up || Sub Lieutenant Antonio Maponya from SA Naval College has been called up to the Banyana Banyana Squad to face Morocco.

NO DNA, JUST RSA🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦

#SANDF
#SANavy
#ToBeUnchallengedAtSea
#SANDFFootball

[Parth MN @parthpunter]

Temba Bavuma hasn't lost a test match as captain.

He averages over 50 with the bat in those matches.

He has now whitewashed India in India -- a feat a South African captain achieved over 25 years ago.

And he's also led SA to their maiden ICC title in over two decades.

Had Temba been an Indian, English or an Aussie, he'd be talked about a lot more.

Nonetheless, when he ends his test career, he could well go down as one of the best test captains of the past 15 years, along with Pat Cummins & Virat Kohli.

Consider the circumstances in which Temba became South African captain.

The team was in shambles, and he faced despicable remarks. People suggested he became captain because of the color of his skin. The South African team was accused of ignoring "merit".

How beautifully and calmly he's turned it around, and silenced his critics with dignity.

He's a story of hope, wonderfully living up to his name.

[Sport360° @Sport360]

Captain Temba Bavuma supremacy 🇿🇦©️🔥

🏟️ 12 Tests
✅ 11 Wins
💪 0 defeats
🏆 World Test Champions
🇮🇳 Historic series sweep in India

#INDvSA

[Tiego @Tiego_Modisa]

🇿🇦🌎

[Proteas Men @ProteasMenCSA]

Series Champions! 🏆

#TheProteas Men create history in India with a sensational 2-0 Test series clean sweep. 🌟🇿🇦

This marks South Africa’s first Test series triumph on Indian soil in 25 years. 👏🏏

[Proteas Men @ProteasMenCSA]

🚨 MATCH RESULT 🚨

A dominant display from #TheProteas Men as they claim victory by an incredible 408 runs!! 😤🇿🇦

Setting a new record for South Africa’s biggest winning margin over India in Test cricket. 💥🙆‍♂️

[The Presidency 🇿🇦 @PresidencyZA]

WELCOME TO SOUTH AFRICA 🇿🇦

#G20SouthAfrica 🇿🇦
#BetterAfricaBetterWorld 🌍

[Tiego @Tiego_Modisa]

😂

[Arnav Gupta @championswimmer]

It can do, but only once.

[Tiego @Tiego_Modisa]

The 2026 @trailseekermtb schedule is out!

Training to resume 🚵🏾‍♀️🚴🏽‍♀️

2025 has been quite eventful.
The early morning seeker shots.

[FIFA World Cup @FIFAWorldCup]

🇿🇦 South Africa win their opening match of the #U17WC!

[Tiego @Tiego_Modisa]

Wow! 🔥😳

[SuperSport 🏆 @SuperSportTV]

A run chase for the ages from India's batters 🇮🇳😲

The hosts will face South Africa in the #CWC25 final on Sunday 👏🏆

#SSCricket | #HereForHer

[Tiego @Tiego_Modisa]

Let's go!

[Proteas Women @ProteasWomenCSA]

Final Bound! 💪

#TheProteas Women make history in Guwahati! 🙆‍♀️

A breathtaking semi-final performance that cements their spot in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Final for the first time ever! 🇿🇦

#Unbreakable #CWC25

[Tiego @Tiego_Modisa]

🇿🇦✨️

[Proteas Women @ProteasWomenCSA]

A great catch from Tumi Sekhukhune!! 👏😁

Nadine de Klerk picks up her first wicket of the game. 🔥🇿🇦

England Women are 175/9 after 39 overs. 🏏

#Unbreakable #CWC25

[Tiego @Tiego_Modisa]

#RideJoburg

[lethabo| treble winner 🏆 @_wasaaaabi]

South Africans every year: