The "Gub" Blog: Friday, June 12, 2026

On This Day in History – June 12

1898 – Philippines declares independence: Filipino revolutionaries proclaim independence from Spain, a key moment in Asia’s anti‑colonial movements.
1964 – Nelson Mandela sentenced: Mandela and seven others receive life sentences for sabotage and treason in South Africa, galvanizing global opposition to apartheid.
1987 – “Tear down this wall”: U.S. President Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at the Berlin Wall, symbolizing late–Cold War pressure for reform in Eastern Europe.
1991 – Boris Yeltsin elected: Russians choose Yeltsin as president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, accelerating the breakup of the Soviet Union and post‑Cold War realignment.
1994 – Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman killed: Their murders and the subsequent O.J. Simpson trial reshape global debates about race, celebrity, and the justice system.
2003 – Gudrun Ensslin & RAF legacy remembered: Germany continues reckoning with the far‑left Red Army Faction’s legacy of political violence, influencing European policing and security policy.

Yesterday (June 11): Ottawa dominated headlines with the federal government’s bill to ban social media access for anyone under 16, sparking an intense debate on children’s mental health, civil liberties, and platform regulation.
Expected today (June 12): Discussion is set to continue in Ottawa and across the provinces as stakeholders—from educators to tech companies—position themselves on how (or whether) such a ban could be enforced and challenged in court.

United States (June 11): Coverage remained centred on President Trump’s handling of the war with Iran, including his decision to call off a third night of strikes while publicly linking the conflict to rising inflation and energy prices.

Escalating U.S.–Iran conflict and energy shock: Continued U.S. strikes on Iran and attacks in and around the Strait of Hormuz disrupted global oil flows, driving up energy prices and feeding inflation worldwide—developments likely to shape geopolitics, defence policy, and household costs for years.
Global cost‑of‑living pressures: With energy now accounting for a large share of monthly inflation in North America and beyond, economists warn of a prolonged period of higher borrowing costs and budget tightening by governments and households alike.

“History is not what happened, it is what survives the shipwrecks of time.”
– Jacques Le Goff

(Le Goff was a leading French historian of medieval Europe whose work reshaped how scholars understand memory, myth, and institutions.)

Ottawa drivers are seeing an average of about 1.69–1.71 CAD per litre for regular gasoline, after a small drop earlier this week, with analysts warning of further increases if the Iran conflict continues.