The "Gub" Blog: Saturday, April 18, 2026

On this day in history – April 18

1521 – Martin Luther refuses to recant his writings before Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms, a pivotal moment in the Protestant Reformation.
1954 – Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser consolidates power in Egypt, setting the stage for decades of Arab nationalist leadership and Cold War realignment in the Middle East.
1956 – Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco, transforming an American film icon into European royalty and boosting Monaco’s global profile.
1775 – Riders Paul Revere, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott spread the alarm through Massachusetts on the eve of the American Revolutionary War.
1791 – National Guardsmen block French King Louis XVI and his family from leaving Paris, foreshadowing the radicalization of the French Revolution.
1818 – U.S. forces defeat a combined Indigenous and Black regiment at the Battle of Suwannee (First Seminole War), reshaping control in Florida and the U.S.–Spanish frontier.

Canada politics – yesterday and today

Yesterday: Canada’s political conversation was dominated by backlash to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s sharp criticism of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trade strategy and outreach to China, raising questions about Canada–U.S. economic relations.
Today: Expect follow‑up positioning in Ottawa, with the government and opposition parties framing Lutnick’s remarks either as evidence of mismanaged trade ties or as a sign Canada must double down on diversified partnerships beyond the U.S.

The dominant U.S. political story was the historic impeachment debate and vote in the House of Representatives over charges against President Donald Trump, with intense partisan clashes over his conduct in office.

Yesterday will likely be remembered for developments in the ongoing U.S.–Israel–Iran conflict and related diplomacy, including signals from Iran about keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and progress toward further talks, which could shape global energy markets and security for years.
Continued deployment of additional U.S. troops to the region underscored how far the conflict has stretched beyond initial timelines and how its resolution may redefine regional alliances and defence postures.
Political shifts in Europe, including Hungary’s move away from Viktor Orbán’s long rule, added to a sense of longer‑term realignment in democratic politics and EU dynamics.

“History is not what happened, but what we remember and how we remember it.”

(This is a widely used modern aphorism; you can present it without attribution or tag it as “Anonymous.”)

Sunrise / Sunset (Ottawa, April 18, 2026): Sunrise about 6:13 a.m., sunset about 7:51 p.m., for roughly 13 hours and 40 minutes of daylight.
Moon: Waxing crescent, very young (about 1 day old) with roughly 1–2% illumination.
Regular gas price (Ottawa): Recent data show regular gasoline averaging about 1.62 CAD per litre in Ottawa in early–mid April 2026, with local stations currently around the mid‑1.80s per litre this weekend.