"Mothers of the Disappeared" is a song by the rock band U2, the closing track on their album The Joshua Tree, released on 9 March 1987. The song was inspired by lead singer Bono's experiences in Nicaragua and El Salvador in July 1986, following U2's involvement on Amnesty International's A Conspiracy of Hope tour. He learned of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, a group of women whose children had been abducted with the consent of Argentine and Chilean dictatorships. Thematically the song has been interpreted as an examination of failures and contradictions in US foreign policy and as a criticism of the Reagan Administration, which backed two South American regimes that seized power during coups and which provided financial support for the military regime in El Salvador. The song was favourably received by critics, and has been performed live on several tours, starting with the 1987 Joshua Tree Tour. It was played at four concerts on the 1998 PopMart Tour in South America; during two of these, the Madres joined the band onstage (pictured).
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothers_of_the_Disappeared
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1009:
The first known record of the name of Lithuania appeared in an entry in the annals of the Quedlinburg Abbey in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_Lithuania
1862:
American Civil War: In the world's first major battle between two powered ironclad warships (painting pictured), the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia, fought to a draw near the mouth of Hampton Roads in Virginia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hampton_Roads
1932:
Éamon de Valera, one of the dominant political figures in twentieth-century Ireland, became President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89amon_de_Valera
1945:
World War II: Imperial Japanese Army officers ousted the government of French Indochina. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat_in_French_Indochina
1977:
Twelve gunmen seized three buildings in Washington, D.C., and took 149 hostages in a 39-hour standoff that ended in two deaths. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_Hanafi_Siege
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
blip: 1. (electronics) A small dot registered on electronic equipment, such as a radar or oscilloscope screen. 2. A short sound of a single pitch, usually electronically generated. 3. (by extension) A brief and usually minor aberration or deviation from what is expected or normal. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blip
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
There isn't a coliseum any more, but the city is a bigger bowl, and it seats more people. The razor-sharp claws aren't those of wild animals but man's can be just as sharp and twice as vicious. You have to be quick, and you have to be able, or you become one of the devoured, and if you can kill first, no matter how and no matter who, you can live and return to the comfortable chair and the comfortable fire. But you have to be quick. And able. Or you'll be dead. --Mickey Spillane https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mickey_Spillane