Christian Pop/Rock and Hard Rock with blend of other Acoustic Styles.
Rafael's Original Music and Songs. All Instruments and Vocals Performed by Rafael Brom. Recorded and Mixed at Brom Studios by Rafael Brom in Kemah, Texas during year 2006 and 2007.
Cosmotone Music (ASCAP) / Cosmotone Records
CD product number: CD-2014 AL
©2007 Cosmotone Records
Photography and album design by Rafael Brom
Photo on Album Cover: 2006 Harvest Moon Regatta, Galveston, Texas.
Rafael Brom was born in Prague (formerly Czechoslovakia, but now called the Czech Republic) on August 13, 1952. He was born into a musical family. His mother was a popular professional singer, pianist, composer, and dancer. His father was an outstanding piano player and composer and grandfather was considered a musical virtuoso.
In 1963, Rafael emigrated to Sarajevo. While in Sarajevo, Rafael studied several levels of Graphics Arts and Design, Communication Arts, and Fine Arts. To see Rafael's artwork visit: Rafael's Art Gallery. He was a student of several well-known Academy professors and international graphic artists. One such professor was Mersad Berber. After completing his education, Rafael worked full-time for an energy company as a graphics designer. He did this to support his mother and brother.
With the help of his father, Libor, and Senator Armstrong, Rafael emigrated to the United States in 1979. Upon arriving in the United States, Rafael worked for several energy companies as a graphics illustrator. He dedicated his free time to music, painting, illustrations and helping his father publishing books.
Rafael moved to Los Angeles, California in 1984. While there, he established his own record label, Cosmotone Records. He also started Publishing Company Cosmotone Music (ASCAP) and a distribution company, Center for the Queen of Peace. He then released 3 more albums, 'Padre Pio' (Lord Hamilton) This recording is now included on 'Dance for Padre Pio', 'Peace of Heart', and 'The Sounds of Heaven'. In Los Angeles, Rafael was involved in numerous charitable activities with his friends of Medjugorje, Marian and Pro-Life Movements, and Padre Pio Prayer Groups and Priests. He opened two Catholic bookstores and for seven years organized big screen presentations on Medjugorje and other Marian Apparitions in Pasadena, California. These influenced the lives of countless people.
On Padre Pio's birthday, May 25th, 1988, Rafael became a U.S. citizen in a touching naturalization ceremony in Los Angeles, California. In 1992, he moved to Sugar Land, Texas, where he released 7 more albums. They were 'Dance for Padre Pio' (which contained his first two 12" vinyl albums), 'True Measure of Love', 'Music for Peace of Mind', 'The Christmas Songs', and 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. Upon the request of Hollywood film director Kurt James Stefka, Rafael composed and performed an original score for Kurt's short TV movie, 'Crossroads of the World'.
While living in Sugar Land, Rafael developed and designed a new distribution and publishing company, Marianland.com. This is now the largest Roman Catholic Marian Pro-Life resource web site on the Internet. This company distributes and publishes some of the world's finest Catholic and Christian videos, books, music, and church supplies.
Rafael came up with the idea for a Catholic theme park in 1984. Marianland was soon built in the United States. Marianland.com is also a licensed representative of award-winning British film director, J. Paddy Nolan. They have distributed Nolan's documentary videos on Padre Pio, Sr. Faustina, and Medjugorje.
The year 2000 saw all of Rafael's albums remastered for CD duplication and mp3 release. This was done by music and sound guru, Colin Kennedy, of Tortuga Music in Glendale, California. Rafael has since released two new albums, 'Angelophany' and 'All My Love To You, Jesus'. Rafael released his 'Rafael Brom Unplugged' DVD in 2004. In 2005, Rafael moved to League City, Texas, where he is continuing his ministries. In 2007, Rafael released hit record album "Life is Good, Enjoy It While You Can". Rafael's hobbies include tennis, sailing, soccer, movies, books, paintings, arts, and music.
__________________________________________________________________________
THE WORLD ON FIRE
Prof. Libor Brom
When Communism was "defeated" and the Cold War ended, many believed a great future was at hand for all mankind. US State Department official Francis Fukuyama went further when he concluded that the end of the Cold War meant an end of history; since history was nothing but humanity's struggle for the right ideology, now, no veritable alternative to a capitalist democracy existed.
After the "defeat" of communism free men around the world felt safe. The "victorious" American enjoyed a false sense of prosperity and freedom. However, a new frustration began to surface, one reflected in a short paragraph that appeared in the press:
Joe Smith awakes having set his alarm clock (made in China), shaves with his electric razor (made in Hong Kong), puts on a shirt (made in Sri Lanka), designer pants (made in Singapore) and tennis shoes (made in Korea), prepares his breakfast in an electric skillet (made in India) and sits down with his calculator (made in Mexico) to work on his budget. After setting his watch (made in Taiwan) to the radio (made in India), he drives his car (made in Japan) and continues his search for the American job. At the end of a disappointing day he relaxes by putting on his sandals (made in Brazil), pouring himself a glass of wine (made in Chile), turning on his TV (made in Indonesia) and then wonders why he cannot find a job in America.
Economist Paul Craig Roberts writes: "American communities are losing manufacturing jobs. Americans who used to make things for a living now have part-time jobs at Wall-Mart selling items made abroad...and maintain their consumption by spending the equity when refinancing their homes. In the past five years, mortgage debt has risen 55 percent. Total personal debt now stands 100 percent of personal income. The United States has made the transition from the accumulation of wealth to the consumption of wealth." (Conservative Chronicle, February 22, 2003).
What is true for the individual in the above case is also true for the country. Massive U.S. trade deficits are being financed by the transfer of American assets to foreign lands. Everyday Americans hand over a billion dollars in treasury and corporate bonds, real estate, and corporate equities to foreigners. How long will the illusion of prosperity and peace endure before Americans (living it up importing inexpensive products paid by large trade deficits), realize that the merchandise they purchase is no longer easy on the pocketbook and their dollar continues to lose its value? How long will it take before trade deficit in America (once the world's greatest creditor and now the world's greatest debtor) affects the living standard of every citizen? Publicist Pat Buchanan has concluded that as Congress votes for tax cuts, spends billions to bail out deadbeat countries and assists decaying international banks, Americans will face a serious economic crisis.
While apostles of globalization, such as Thomas Friedman, believe that exporting the idea of free markets and political democracy increase prosperity and peace throughout the developing world, Professor of International Trade at Yale University Ama Chua argues the opposite. In her book World on Fire, researched and experienced as a Chinese brought up in the Philippines, Chua concludes that instead of peace and increased prosperity free market brings about ethnic conflict and ugly violence in developing countries. In Asia, Africa, Russia and Latin America a free market has created above all a new class of immensely rich plutocrats who are mainly members of a minority groupÑChinese in the Philippines, Croatians in the former Yugoslavia, whites in Latin America, Indians in East Africa, Jews in postcommunist Russia.
Chinese speaking citizens make up only 1 to 2% of the Philippine population, yet own the majority of the country's business assets and live secluded in a luxurious world fenced off from the indigenous majority whom they hold in contempt. The same situation existed in Indonesia. The Chinese made up 3% of its vast population, yet owned the great majority of all businesses. The dictator Suharto and his family had lucrative ties to the Chinese community. When his government fell in 1998, democratization set off a vicious pogrom against the Chinese. When most of them fled to Singapore, the new Indonesian government expropriated $58 billion of their assets.
In other words, the market dominant minorities in the Third World become targets of envy. Adding democracy to this violent mix unleashes suppressed ethnic hate and brings to power ethno-nationalistic governments that pursue aggressive policies of confiscation and revenge.
Ex-communists around the world take delight at such developments. They see capitalism digging its own grave. Marxists define America as imperialistic. She controls the sources of the world by neo-colonization, i.e., she exploits former colonies and backs corrupted regimes resulting in favorable conditions for an inevitable "Second World Socialist Revolution." Communists behind the former Iron and Bamboo Curtains--from the Czech Republic to the Peoples' Republic of China--have never been defeated. They have only retreated to take a deep breath to acquire Western technology and develop new tactics toward the conquest of the world. In the Czech Republic, for example, an agreement was made with dissident Vaclav Havel to vote him in as President of the republic, orchestrate their "velvet revolution" and establish their phony postcommunism. Thirteen years later the communists again were decisive in the election of Vaclav Klaus as the second Czech president.
A comparable situation exists everywhere in "postcommunism" where communists govern as capitalists and democrats as is the case in Poland with Kwasniewski, in Ukraine with Kuchma, in White Russia with Lukashenka, in Azerbaijan with Shevardnadze and in China with Hu Jintao.
In the rest of the world, where communists and their collaborators are not fully in power, it is the socialists who prepare the ground for revolution. Europe is already under their spell. The bureaucratic European Union will complete their absolute rule. In South America, the continent is on fire with strikes, terror, and bankruptcies. Narcotic trade financed guerillas carry out battles with bourgeois governments. Southern Asia impassioned by class and territorial conflicts and armed with weapons of mass destruction smolders before exploding. The Near East, the gas station of the world and the permanent arena of Arabs and Jews, is the source of world terrorism as witnessed by the destruction of thousands of lives in New York's World Trade Center and Washington's Department of Defense. As Lenin claimed a century ago, the object of history is nothing but "who gets whom."
History continues. The world is on fire.
Read more...