Features
Eclectic Nathan Zassman always on lookout for new challenges, new fields to conquer
By MYRON LOVE Aviva Natural Health Solutions on St. James Street is not your typical health food store just as Aviva’s founder, Nathan Zassman, is not your typical entrepreneur.
“What is unique about Aviva is that we take a holistic approach to achieving optimum health through a healthy lifestyle,” Zassman says. “I do a tremendous amount of research in a constant quest for finding solutions to people’s health problems. Many of our products were discovered from research I’ve done working to resolve my own health issues.”
As an example, he cites a brand of footwear from Switzerland, kybun, which was recommended after he tore up some knee ligaments four years ago. Doctors told him he would have to have both knees replaced. He tried the shoes – which claim to repair cartilage and, after ten days, he was walking without pain, after having had to use a walker.
“A physiotherapist who shops here was amazed,” Zassman says. “As a result of my own experience, I can advise people about how properly designed footwear can eliminate knee, hip and back pain.”
At Aviva, Zassman focuses on promoting healthy eating (through food products, healthy food preparation, and dietary supplements) and liquids (as in water filtration systems). A healthy living space requires clean air, for which he recommends air purifiers and humidifiers that can improve any environment. He promotes the importance of getting a good night’s sleep (with organic latex mattresses and coverings that facilitate healing while reducing the time it takes to fall asleep), sitting on active health-promoting chairs, and wearing therapeutic footwear.
One of Aviva’s air purifier brands – Blueair – from Sweden – was recently featured on CBC’s Marketplace – which tremendously boosted Aviva’s sales of the products.“We sold more than 300 units in just two weeks after the Marketplace feature,” he reports, and Aviva continues to sell them in large numbers.“We sell our products worldwide, through our website avivahealth.com.”
Aviva’s eclectic mix of products closely mirrors Zassman’s own lifetime of careers and pursuits. The lifestyle guru began life in Beverly, Massachusetts, which is about 20 miles northeast of Boston. In high school and beyond, he studied trombone and voice at both the prestigious Manhattan School of Music in New York City, and, later, at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. He was performing regular concerts in Carnegie Hall with the American Symphony Orchestra when he was only 19 years of age.
In Chicago he performed in the Chicago Civic Orchestra, the training orchestra of the Chicago Symphony, and was a member and soloist with the North Side Symphony of Chicago. Nathan’s first experience as an entrepreneur also occurred in Chicago, when he founded The Zassman Brassmen, a brass quintet that performed educational concerts in schools, as well as formal concert performances.
In 1974, after six of years of study in Chicago with the famous brass pedagogue Arnold Jacobs, Zassman won the audition for second trombone in the Winnipeg Symphony. In addition to his role as a trombonist with the WSO, he joined the faculty of the University of Manitoba, teaching the brass instruments, conducting brass ensembles, and teaching “Brass Techniques” at the Faculty of Education, outlining the basics of all the brass instruments to music education students.
But Zassman has never been defined by just one category. Concurrent with his career in music, he trained as a professional photographer at the Winona School of Professional Photography in Indiana, earning 20 diplomas and Certificates of Merit in a wide range of photographic disciplines. “I became interested in photography while in Chicago,” he recalls, “and spent my summers studying at the best schools and with famous photographers, to refine and improve my craft. I approached photography the same way I did music, seeking out the finest photographers who shared their unique techniques, either privately, or through classes.”
While in Chicago, Zassman developed an interest in Eastern philosophy, studying yoga and astrology at the College of Occult Studies in Chicago. In Winnipeg, he later founded Celestial Interface, producing astrological birth charts for those interested in learning how astrology can improve their lives. He was also appointed CBC Official Photographer, appearing on about a dozen radio and TV spots with CBC Radio and Television, preparing and discussing astrological birth charts on political candidates running for local and national elections.
Zassman founded a photography business specializing in architectural, portrait and commercial photography, creating magazine covers and illustrations for local and national magazines. He also became the Winnipeg Symphony’s official photographer, doing portraits of all the musicians for the symphony programs, as well as taking the annual photo of the orchestra. For many years he taught photography at a school he founded in Winnipeg while the symphony was in session from September to May, and taught professional photographic techniques at the Winona School of Professional Photography, the University of Saskatchewan Department of Art, and the Saskatchewan School of the Arts during the summer months. Zassman also founded The Heliograph Gallery, the first gallery that specialized in photography in Winnipeg.
Now, one would think that teaching photography, performing with the Winnipeg symphony and teaching at the University of Manitoba School of Music would be more than enough to keep someone busy, but Nathan Zassman is a cut above average. He further added businessman to his resumé when he got into computer sales on the ground floor in 1982.
“I had always been interested in cooking and nutrition,” he recalls. “In the early 1980s, I was hired by a local book publisher to write a cookbook with an original idea. I was planning to write the book on my IBM typewriter, but a friend recommended I use a word processor, as he told me that no one used a typewriter anymore for writing.”
One of Nathan’s photography students worked for a local company, Westsun Media. They were selling the Kaypro, which had been rated the best value brand of computer that could be used as a word processor. Nathan purchased a Kaypro with two floppy disk drives for $4000, and couldn’t believe the freedom it provided, allowing him to edit his work, and even check his spelling.
Zassman was so enthused with his computer that he encouraged all his friends to buy one as well. “I was sending so many customers to Westsun to buy a Kaypro computer that I asked the owner, Marc Raymond, if he would allow me trade mine in for a new model with a built in hard drive, which was revolutionary at the time for a portable computer. Marc acknowledged that all his sales were thanks to Nathan and offered him the job as sales manager for the computer division of Westsun. After a short time, Nathan decided he should start his own business and left Westsun.
Thus, in 1982, the musician became a businessman with the founding of Aries Microsystems. “Our business grew rapidly,” Zassman recalls. “By 1986, Aries ranked as the fastest-growing business in Manitoba.” But in 1988 he found that the added responsibilities of running a computer business were interfering with his musical career, so he decided to sell Aries to one of his employees. However, Zassman retained his passion for computers and after his three year non-competition clause from the sale of Aries came to an end, in 1991 he started a second computer company – Opus Computer Solutions.
Zassman retired from the WSO in 1995 to devote himself full time to his new company. “In 1997, I bought the former Winestock’s Wholesale building at 52 Adelaide in the Exchange District and moved my computer business into the downtown marketplace area,” he recalls. “In 2001, I decided to set up a gym on the third level for my computer technicians. I wanted to encourage my technicians to include exercise in their lifestyle. I did my research and bought the best fitness equipment available.”
After a short time, he decided to also sell the fitness lines he purchased for the Opus gym, and Aviva Natural Health Solutions was born.
Zassman then went to the United States, studying Nutritional Therapy in Medical Practice with Jonathan Wright, M.D., and Alan Gaby, M.D., and obtaining certificates in 2003 and 2007. By 2005, Aviva was bringing in enough revenue to stand on its own, so Zassman sold Opus Computer Solutions in 2007 to focus entirely on his new venture.
“I seem to change careers every 20 years or so,” he says.
He moved Aviva to its current location, at 1224 St. James Street, in 2010. And, while still very active in the operations of Aviva, true to form Zassman continues to grow and explore other fields. A bass/baritone, he’s returned to singing and was studying with Mel Braun at the University of Manitoba, as well as singing in two choirs – until Covid forced a pause. On top of all that, a few years ago, began taking acting classes with the Prairie Theatre Exchange. He became a member of Shoestring Players, and has appeared in three plays so far.
He continues to indulge his passion for healthy cooking and baking bread. While running Opus, he became well known for offering his customers and staff free loaves of bread, made from freshly ground organic grain, and is still doing so at Aviva. These days though, he concentrates on sourdough bread. He offers his starter to anyone interested in baking sourdough bread, for free.
Features
New movie, “Bau, Artist at War,” scheduled to open in Winnipeg on Sept. 26, tells the amazing story of Joseph Bau, whose marriage to his wife Rebecca was made famous in “Schindler’s List”
“They can starve us, beat us, cage us – but they could never kill our spirit.“ – Joseph Bau
A gripping new movie, titled Bau, Artist at War, scheduled to open in Winnipeg on Sept. 26 at the Grant Park Landmark Theatre, tells the story of Joseph Bau, whose dramatization of his marriage in Plaszow concentration camp to his wife Rebecca was an unforgettable scene in the movie Schindler’s List.
The film is based in large part on Bau’s memoir, Dear God, Have You Ever Gone Hungry? (published in 1998). The film was written by Deborah Smerecnik, Ron Bass, and Sonia Kifferstein, and is directed by Sean McNamara.
Featuring stellar performances by Emile Hirsche (who appeared in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as the protagonist, and Inbar Lavi (who appeared in the Israeli television series Fauda and the U.S. television series Imposters) as Rebecca, the movie is a combination love story and espionage tale that deserves attention in an era, as one commentator has said, “where survivors are fading away, and the Holocaust is slipping from memory.” It’s also a story about resistance during the Holocaust.
In the movie, during his time in Plaszow Concentration Camp, Bau is a Jewish forger, an artist and a designer. He is employed by the brutal commandant Josef Liepold to draw a newly planned wing in the prison. He is simultaneously forging IDs for Jewish inmates helping them escape the prison. Hirsche as Bau, also draws comics for the prisoners, and his gift of art inspires his future wife with his colorful “lifegiving” creations, to which she responds in the gloomy setting of the death camp. McNamara cleverly intercuts these wonderful artworks within the film’s action.
Joseph Bau was a man who defied the darkness of the Holocaust with art, humor, and an unbreakable spirit. A gifted artist and master forger, Bau risked his life to save others, using his talent to create false documents that helped fellow prisoners escape certain death. But in the depths of despair, he discovered something even more powerful…love.
In the Plaszow concentration camp, amid relentless brutality, Joseph met Rebecca – a woman whose courage matched his own.
Years later, when Joseph is called to testify against the sadistic Nazi officer who tormented him, he is forced to relive the horrors of his past. But through it all, he draws strength from the love that saved him, the art that sustained him, and the unyielding will that kept him alive.
A gripping war drama, a daring espionage thriller, and one of the greatest love stories of our time, Bau, Artist at War is a testament to the power of resilience, the triumph of the human spirit, and the unbreakable bonds that even war could not destroy.
Features
Israeli startup Combatica is transforming education and entertainment in Uganda through VR and AI technologies
In early June 2024, the Israeli startup Combatica opened the first next-generation virtual park in Africa, located in Uganda. This step attracted the attention not only of local residents but also of professionals worldwide. The use of artificial intelligence and virtual reality is changing the approach to education and leisure: what fundamentally new does such a project bring? Why is this considered a real technological breakthrough, and what new horizons does it open up for African countries and the entire world?
Combatica: The history of an innovative startup and its philosophy
The company Combatica was founded four years ago by a group of Israeli engineers and military experts. From the very beginning, its mission was to create a simulator of the future, combining gaming technologies and professional training for both military and civilian tasks. According to the Globes Israel portal, the Combatica platform was initially used in Israeli military structures for tactical training of fighters. But within a year, it achieved international implementation in the Middle East and Europe.
In this context, it is important to note that over the past two years, the company has not only increased sales in the domestic market but also attracted the attention of Frost & Sullivan analysts, who named Combatica the largest player in the tactical training market by 2025. International expansion became the next stage of development: now Combatica technologies go beyond military tasks, also covering education and mass entertainment.
Combatica VR park in Uganda: a new step for the region
The Combatica park in the town of Busika became the first of its kind for the African continent. At the same time, it is a space for recreation, an interactive learning field, and a platform for demonstrating technologies. The opening was supported by representatives of the local administration and the media, and the first visitors noted the extraordinary realism of the simulations.
In this context, it was significant that Uganda was not chosen by chance. As experts claim, the country is actively investing in digital initiatives and education, turning into a technological hub of East Africa. Why did the African region become the launch pad? The answer lies in the high interest in innovative forms of learning and the desire to attract the youth to the professions of the future.
Technologies and capabilities of the Combatica 2.1 platform
At the core of the VR park is the Combatica 2.1 platform—an integrated system combining artificial intelligence, real-time analytics, and elements of tactical games. As the developers explain, the platform creates complete immersion in a digital environment, and the scenarios bring participants as close as possible to real-life situations.
The technical characteristics of Combatica 2.1 include:
• More than 50 interactive scenarios modeling different levels of complexity
• Seven detailed maps reflecting real and fictional landscapes
• Special night vision modes for simulating operations in darkness
• An analytics system tracking each player’s actions in real time and allowing tasks to be tailored to individual needs
The term “metaverse” in this context means the unification of digital worlds where users interact not only with virtual objects but also with each other, while “portability” underlines the mobility of the solution.
Unique features: portability and adaptability
One of the key distinctions of Combatica is the exceptional mobility of the system. All the equipment needed to launch the platform fits into two standard suitcases, allowing a training or game session to be organized almost anywhere in the world with minimal preparation.
In this context, it is important that Combatica has proven its versatility. The platform has been successfully used in military exercises to practice actions in real conditions, as well as at corporate events and festivals for team games and leadership skills training. Can such flexibility be called a unique feature among similar VR solutions? Many experts tend to believe that it is precisely adaptability and ease of deployment that make Combatica in demand among different audiences.
Impact on education and the entertainment industry
In recent years, VR and AI-based simulations are gaining unprecedented scale. Modern scenarios include not only military missions or rescue operations but also team strategy games for teenagers and adults. Analysts note that in Africa, where access to traditional education and training is limited, such solutions open up fundamentally new opportunities.
For example, Statista data for 2023 show that the global VR training market reached $5.5 billion, with growth of more than 15% per year, and in African countries, demand is growing faster than the average. This approach is especially in demand among the army, security services, and educational institutions seeking interactive and effective tools.
International plans and ambitions: global scaling
The next stage of Combatica’s development is the launch of similar VR parks in the USA and Europe. According to company representatives, by 2026 it is planned to open at least three new centers focused on professional training, corporate programs, and mass entertainment. The demand for such technologies is explained by the desire to combine gaming experience, analytics, and training in a single environment.
In this context, it is important to emphasize that Frost & Sullivan analysts note a sharp increase in Combatica’s global sales this year. According to estimates, the dynamics are due to the flexibility of the platform and its rapid adaptation to different tasks, which is especially valuable for Western markets.
Expert evaluations and market recognition
In an interview with Globes Israel, Frost & Sullivan analysts noted: “Combatica is a market leader thanks to the speed of innovation implementation and consideration of user needs.” Sales of the platform in just the past six months have tripled compared to the same period last year. Success is explained not only by technological leadership but also by the ability to adapt to changing market conditions.
At the same time, some experts draw attention to a number of challenges: the cost of equipment, data security issues, and accessibility for educational institutions in developing countries. Although most of these problems can be solved in the coming years, it is important to take them into account when planning scaling.
Context and prospects for the region
The impact of the implementation of VR and AI solutions on the educational and gaming industry of Africa is hard to overestimate. The opening of the Combatica park may become an important catalyst for the development of technological literacy, specialist training, and attracting investments to the region. Nevertheless, experts emphasize the need to modernize infrastructure, train personnel, and create conditions for mass access to innovations.
In this context, the prospects seem promising: according to the African Development Bank, annual investments in digital education and interactive platforms will only grow, and the experience of Combatica can become a model for new projects on the continent.
Material prepared with the support of App1win
Features
Is Hamas a “treatable” cancer?
By GREGORY MASON If we define Hamas as a cancer, can we devise a strategy to, if not defeat Hamas, at least manage it? Is Hamas “treatable?”
Defining treatable cancer
Although the cancer charities like to promote the notion that we are winning the war against cancer, a reference that confirms the suitability of conjoining cancer and Hamas, the reality is that five-year survival rates are increasing only slowly. While curative therapies continue to improve, early detection —encompassing both greater testing participation and technological advancements in testing —appears to be the most crucial factor in lengthened survivability.
The key treatment condition is the stage at which cancer becomes known. The typical staging has four levels, where the tumour:
- remains entirely within the margins (edges) of the organ
- reaches the margins.
- moves beyond the margin and invades the surrounding tissues.
- move another organ or system.
Sometimes oncologists refer to precancerous growths as “stage 0” when a surgeon removes a skin lesion as a precaution. Progression among the cancer stages is known as metastasis.
Most important is to understand that the five-year survival standard includes no reference to quality of life. Most cancer treatments compromise quality of life.
Patients often assume the word “cancer” means a death sentence. Yet if detected early, the idea of “treatable cancer” invariably creates a sense of optimism since it also implies a course of action leading to a “cure.” Most oncologists are wary of raising false expectations when discussing the nature of a patient’s condition and the options for treatment.
Three conditions mark a treatable cancer. - Treatment options exist.
- Actions are feasible – the patient resides where the technology, talent, and treatments (medications) are available.
- Patients receive no guarantees that exist for a cure (complete remission), extension of life, or improved quality of life.
Treatment outcomes for cancer exist in several dimensions: the extension of life, the quality of that life, and the difficulty of the treatment. Patients and physicians face complex trade-offs, where the difficulty of the treatment versus the expected gain in quality of life may induce the patient to curtail active treatment. The patient submits to the inevitable and enters palliative care.
Setting aside voodoo, cancer treatments include surgery that targets specific tumour sites, chemotherapy that uses a cocktail of chemicals that targets cancerous cells without affecting healthy tissue, and palliative care. Palliative care accepts the inevitable course of disease leading to death.
The final issue is that a systemic cancer, such as lymphoma, stands in contrast to a tumour, which exists at a defined point. Treatment is different for each type. Systemic cancers require chemotherapy, while point cancers require surgery.
Hamas as a cancer.
Some may object to my characterization of Hamas as a cancer since they see Hamas as freedom fighters for Palestinian independence. No comment. No apology.
The origin of Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood, which started in Egypt during the late 1920s as a labour movement among Suez Canal dockworkers, led by Hassan al-Banna. Its goals were to spread Islam across the Arab world, oppose colonialism (primarily British and French) and promote the Arab mission in Palestine. This movement has spread rapidly throughout the Middle East and beyond.
Hamas (Harakat-al-Muqawama-al-Islamiya or “Islamic Resistance Movement”) was established in 1987 following the first intifada, when Arabs living in Gaza, Judea/Samaria and East Jerusalem engaged in a violent protest against what Hamas and other groups perceived as unjustified Israeli governance over their lands. A core goal was to build support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which had lost support to Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) sponsored by Iran. It is one example of the conflict between Sunni Islam (Muslim Brotherhood) and Shia Islam (PIJ).
Rather than an isolated tumour, Hamas in Gaza is but a derivative lesion of the broader Muslim Brotherhood cancer. Although not part of the Palestinian Authority, it is the most popular movement in the West Bank. It may well have had a hand in the weekend attack in Jerusalem that killed six and injured 13, although many malign actors are available.
Another Muslim Brotherhood lesion is the Hamas leadership that has remained ensconced in luxury Qatar hotels. Israel’s recent attack on the Hamas leadership in Qatar is another attempt to excise the tumour, with a subtle twist. Qatar has operated duplicitously. On the one hand, it has sheltered Hamas leaders and shovelled buckets of money to support their war against Israel while also serving as a “neutral” mediator in the hostage negotiation. Along with Iran and Türkiye, it is a significant funder of the Brotherhood, not only throughout the Middle East, but also in Europe and North America.
Qatar has also opened a series of tumours in post-secondary education, especially in its funding of elite universities. This aligns with the long view inherent in radical Islam and the Muslim Brotherhood. Funding “endowed chairs” enables external funders to circumvent standard academic hiring procedures, placing academics with specific viewpoints in key academic positions. This becomes a critical element in the metastasis of radical Islam. In addition to promoting Islam and an anti-Israel perspective, these faculty members work in partnership with post-modern ideologies that undermine recognition of the past achievements of Western civilization. This is not to defend the past, as much exists in Western history that needs correction.
Defeating Hamas: Tactical win or strategic loss?
Israel’s goals in Gaza have fluctuated, reflecting its extraordinary duration and the existence of the hostages. Many do not want the Netanyahu government to proceed with the final expulsion of Hamas from Gaza. Most opponents to such a campaign within Israel fear it is not possible without massively increased civilian casualties, further hostage deaths, and a prohibitive cost in soldiers’ lives for the Israel Defence Forces.
In addition to the potential costs, commentators such as Andrew Fox believe it is not possible to eliminate Hamas. His essential point is that Hamas has shown a remarkable capacity to adapt. However, he has applauded the attack on the Hamas leadership in Qatar.
The situation has become dire. First, throughout the Middle East, a multitude of cancerous lesions exist in the form of radical Islamic parties vying for control. In the West Bank, in addition to Fatah, the Palestinian Authority (PA) includes other factions such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (a Marxist-Leninist group), the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Palestinian Peoples Party, and the Palestine Popular Struggle Front. Not part of the PA, but very influential and popular are Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
In Gaza, in addition to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the major political factions include Fatah (much weakened since 2007), a range of Salafi-Jihad Groups, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, all of which vie for support. Finally, in addition, several clan-based militias are operating, which Israel currently funds and arms, primarily to irritate Hamas.
A multitude of factions may arise to fill the vacuum if Hamas disappears. Indeed, none are anywhere as strong and capable as Hamas was. But deep pockets exist in the form of Qatar, Türkiye, and Iran to rebuild Islamist military capacity in Gaza.
The many points of radical Islam, comprising funding in Western universities, the mass migration that results in multiple Western societies being unable to integrate newcomers, and post-modern ideas infusing government and corporate management, have merged to create a systemic cancer that seems impervious to treatment, certainly to precise tumour excision.
Israel can play a furious whack-a-mole model of surgical strikes to excise the many tumorous lesions originating from the Muslim Brotherhood. And it may succeed in bringing Hamas to the table to release the remaining hostages and cease its Gaza operations. Israel can score a tactical victory.
But if the West declines to address the systemic cancer of radical Islam and Hamas reconstitutes itself in the West Bank, a strategic victor will elude Israel, and it will return to excising yet another tumour.
Israel’s refusal to wage the information war and Western leaders losing their way and becoming politically indebted to recent migrants may become the strategic errors prolonging the conflict.