Comment by Riaz Haq on September 7, 2020 at 4:02pm

What Does A Papa John’s Franchise Make?

https://www.franchise.com/blog/what-does-papa-johns-franchise-make/

By Kelly MangumJanuary 18, 2019


● Papa John’s was founded in 1984 and has been offering franchise opportunities since 1986.
● You can start a Papa John’s franchise with an initial investment of as low as $300K
● Liquidity Requirements: Papa John’s calls for at least $70K in liquid assets
● Net-worth Requirements: $250K (for 1 unit, and $1 million for up to 10 units)
● Franchise Fees: As low as $25K plus royalty fee of 5 percent of monthly net sales (also payable monthly)
● Advertising/Marketing Fee: 8 percent of monthly sales

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What Does a Papa John’s Franchise Make?
The franchise dictates all the financial info you might want to know within their franchise agreement document (FDD) which is released annually. According to a recent FDD, you can pull in an average of $781, 202 in revenue from your Papa John’s franchise. A company owned location brings in a slightly higher average of $966,460 in annual revenue.
Costs of Operation (Expenses) of a Papa John’s Franchise

While they don’t officially release cost break-down for franchise locations, you can still estimate these using figures for company locations. According to recent stats, the average costs associated with running a Papa John’s location are:
● $284,000 on food costs (or nearly a third of revenue)
● $194,000 on labor and labor-related costs (a fifth of the revenue)
● $89,000 on marketing and advertising (approximately 9 percent of the revenue)
● $45,000 on mileage (about 5 percent of revenue)
● $44,000 on location manager costs
● $22,000 on store deals and bonuses
● $44,000 on tech, supplies, uniforms and other miscellaneous items
● $34,000 on location maintenance, lease, and rent

From that, you can easily determine that the cost of operating a franchise is approximately $824,500. That means that pre-tax profit is around $142,000, which spells approximately 14 percent of the total annual revenue.

Papa John's Franchise - After-Tax Profit
For franchisees, there are a few adjustments you might want to put into consideration. For starters, some franchise stores do experience lower sales due to poor location, insufficient advertising or inadequate sitting. Also, a franchisee has to pay the mandatory 5 percent of net sales towards royalty fee as well as put in at least 8 percent of the profit towards advertising and marketing. All things considered, a Papa John’s franchise can expect to make around $66K to $67K annually.

Of course, you can make more from a Papa John’s franchise if you put in more effort and time, as well as delegate more money towards advertisements and marketing.

Comment by Riaz Haq on September 8, 2020 at 7:41am

"I'm not saying the military's in love with me," Trump said. "The soldiers are, the top people in the Pentagon probably aren't because they want to do nothing but fight wars so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy."

https://theweek.com/articles/936207/are-troops-turning-trump

Now, there are reasonable discussions to be had about America's massive defense spending and the country's warmaking. And it is true that many generals find comfortable sinecures in the armaments industry in their retirement years. But Trump, who has spent this election season touting his administration's increase to the military budget, is in no position to make the critique. Instead, what his comments on Monday really indicate is how rattled he is by The Atlantic's report — and how desperate he is to find a scapegoat. But the tension between Trump and military leaders has deep roots.

Trump doesn't understand the culture of the American armed forces. Trump may say publicly that he loves the military, but what he really seems to admire is a show of strength, and even violence. He delighted in then-Defense Secretary James Mattis' "Mad Dog" nickname, promoted the use of torture against prisoners of war, gave pardons to service members accused or convicted of war crimes, and relaxed the rules of engagement for forces in Afghanistan. The president also loves to bask in the glory of a little bit of spit-and-polish pomp: His 2019 "Salute to America" military parade was prompted by a case of Bastille Day envy.

Comment by Riaz Haq on September 10, 2020 at 4:21pm

U.S. Public Diplomacy: Background and
Current Issues
Kennon H. Nakamura
Analyst in Foreign Affairs
Matthew C. Weed
Analyst in Foreign Policy Legislation

https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R40989.pdf

The United States has long sought to influence the peoples of foreign countries through public
diplomacy (PD) efforts. Public diplomacy provides a foreign policy complement to traditional
government-to-government diplomacy which is dominated by official interaction carried out
between professional diplomats. Unlike public affairs which focus communications activities
intended primarily to inform and influence domestic media and the American people, U.S. public
diplomacy includes efforts to interact directly with the citizens, community and civil leaders,
journalists, and other opinion leaders of another country. PD seeks to influence that society’s
attitudes and actions in supporting U.S. policies and national interests. Public diplomacy is
viewed as often having a long-term perspective that requires working through the exchange of
people and ideas to build lasting relationships and understanding the United States and its culture,
values, and policies. The tools of public diplomacy include people-to-people contact; expert
speaker programs; art and cultural performances; books and literature; radio and television
broadcasting and movies; and, more recently, the Internet. In contrast, traditional diplomacy
involves the strong representation of U.S. policies to foreign governments, analysis and reporting
of a foreign government’s activities, attitudes, and trends that affect U.S. interests. There is a
growing concern among many in the executive branch, the Congress, the media, and other foreign
policy observers, however, that the United States has lost its public diplomacy capacity to
successfully respond to today’s international challenges in supporting the accomplishment of U.S.
national interests.

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A number of congressionally mandated NGOs, many founded during the Cold War, continue to
receive appropriated funds to perform work in support of U.S. foreign policy objectives. These
NGOs seek to develop long-term relationships and to improve foreign populations’ understanding
of and attitudes toward the United States. Among these organizations are the National
Endowment for Democracy (NED), the Asia Foundation, the East West Center at the University
of Hawaii, and the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship Program.

--------------


The BBG had responsibility for supervising, directing, and overseeing the operations of the
International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB). The IBB included the worldwide broadcasting services
of the Voice of America (VOA) and television’s Worldnet, Cuba Broadcasting, an Engineering
and Technical Operations Office, and various support services. The BBG also had funding and
oversight authority over surrogate radio grantees: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
and Radio Free Asia (RFA). Among BBG’s responsibilities was to review and evaluate the
operations of the radios, and assess their quality, effectiveness, and professional integrity. It also
was responsible for determining the addition or deletion of the language services under the IBB.16
In 1999, the U.S. government and surrogate services broadcast hours included

Comment by Riaz Haq on November 30, 2020 at 4:28pm

Pakistan Army set to gain sweeping Belt and Road authority
Bill grants military-linked body carte blanche over $50bn CPEC projects

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Belt-and-Road/Pakistan-Army-set-t...

CPEC projects were stalled for months after Khan took power in 2018, mainly due to graft allegations regarding the previous government's handling of the projects. There were also allegations that the deals unfairly benefited Beijing. Khan's government struggled to cope with twin deficits and unsustainable external debt. Before his election, the former cricketer had been a vocal critic of the corridor, citing a lack of transparency.

But with Bajwa at the helm and Khan now making CPEC a cornerstone of his development plans for Pakistan, CPEC power generation and transportation projects have taken off.

Since its inception, the CPEC Authority has drawn flak from opposition parties, mainly the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and the Pakistan People's Party, which advocate for the strengthening of existing civilian institutions involved in the CPEC.

The parties aligned against the bill have also mounted brazen opposition to the army's role in politics. They have organized rallies across the country under an alliance called the Pakistan Democratic Movement, alleging that the ruling PTI has framed them under fake corruption cases with the backing of the army.

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Pakistan is set to pass legislation that would place a supranational body that oversees the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's flagship Belt and Road Initiative, under control of a Pakistan Army that would also gain sweeping powers.

A parliamentary committee earlier this month passed the CPEC Authority Bill 2020 despite strong opposition from some lawmakers. According to Junaid Akbar, chairman of the parliamentary committee, the bill will be presented to parliament for a final vote in the second week of December.

Pakistan's government under Prime Minister Imran Khan and the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, considered to be aligned with the interests of the army, had been working for months to get the draft bill through the committee. The proposed law seeks to reinstate the controversial CPEC Authority -- which has been defunct since the expiry of a presidential order in May.

If enacted, the legislation will shift control of CPEC projects from the planning and development ministry run by a civilian bureaucracy to the CPEC Authority headed by retired army Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa. In addition, Bajwa would report directly to the prime minister instead of the ministry and replace the planning minister as co-chair of a Pakistan-China joint committee.

Despite the lapse of the presidential order, Bajwa has continued to preside over the CPEC Authority as chairman, a situation that has led opposition legislators to question the legality of his position. In a briefing to the committee, the planning ministry denied having a CPEC Authority chairman; it also denied that it gives Bajwa any salary or perks.

Outside observers say the machinations reveal a military that is asserting itself as the elected government endeavors to find its footing.

"The civilian leadership [under Khan and PTI], which had never held national power until winning the 2018 election, has struggled with public policy on multiple levels," Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia program at the Wilson Center, a Washington think tank, told Nikkei Asia. "This move can be seen in part as a military power play to assert more influence over a key project that it believes it is better qualified to oversee.

Comment by Riaz Haq on August 8, 2021 at 7:46am

Pakistan replaces its Belt and Road chief with Beijing favorite
Removal of retired army general from top position stirs debate among businesses

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Belt-and-Road/Pakistan-replaces-i...

KARACHI -- Pakistan has replaced the head of its Belt and Road projects with an energy expert who is a favorite of Beijing in a bid to push the stalled projects forward, providing observers with another anecdote of China appearing to manage the infrastructure plan from behind the scenes.

Pakistan's government, led by Prime Minister Imran Khan, on Aug. 3 appointed Khalid Mansoor to the country's top position responsible for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) -- the $50 billion local component of Beijing's Belt and Road Infrastructure plan -- replacing Asim Saleem Bajwa, a retired army general.

Bajwa had been chairman of the CPEC authority since November 2019. As he takes over, Mansoor's title will now be 'Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on CPEC Affairs.'

Mansoor, with a career spanning 32 years, has worked at top management positions in many energy-related companies including Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company and Hub Power Company Limited, the latter of which has been involved in CPEC projects.

"[Khalid Mansoor's] vast corporate experience, with extensive work with Chinese companies and his direct involvement in leading some of the biggest CPEC projects, makes him an ideal person to lead the next phase of CPEC," Asad Umar, Pakistan's planning minister, said in a tweet.

An official working with the government told Nikkei Asia that Bajwa had developed a good working relationship with China. Still, Beijing wanted someone in the job who was more familiar with Chinese companies and working culture. "Khalid Mansoor, who has worked with many Chinese companies including directly leading CPEC projects, fits the bill as China's favorite man for the job," the official said.

Experts have linked the change of Pakistan's CPEC chief with Beijing's displeasure at the slow progress of CPEC projects in the country. Since Bajwa assumed office as CPEC authority chairman, there had been no meetings of the Joint Coordination Committee, the apex body jointly chaired by Pakistan and China to make decisions about CPEC projects. With the new CPEC head in office, the 10th JCC is expected to be convened soon.

For several experts, this move is another example of China getting the upper hand in the CPEC and dictating terms to Pakistan. This follows an incident last month, when nine Chinese engineers were killed in a bomb attack on a convoy transporting Chinese personnel to the Dasu Hydropower project in Pakistan's Kohistan district.

"CPEC has undoubtedly gone through a difficult period in the last few years but with the deaths of Chinese workers in the Dasu attack, and anxieties around the situation in Afghanistan, the whole [CPEC] venture has come under even closer scrutiny from Beijing," said Andrew Small, a senior trans-Atlantic fellow with the Asia program at the German Marshall Fund. The security situation in Afghanistan, which borders Pakistan and China, is deteriorating in the wake of the U.S. military withdrawal. He further added that the change of Pakistan's top CPEC man is possibly meant to restore the confidence of the Chinese side on CPEC.

In late July, it was revealed in a meeting that five CPEC energy projects, totaling 3,600 megawatts of generation capacity, are facing delays due to technical reasons. Energy projects are the single largest component of CPEC. The appointment of Mansoor, a man with decades of experience in this sector, is therefore seen as an attempt to accerelate these projects.

Comment by Riaz Haq on November 21, 2022 at 5:40pm

Pakistan ordered an immediate investigation Monday into what the government said was an "illegal" and "unwarranted leakage" of confidential tax documents of the family of the country's powerful military chief.

https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-probes-rare-media-leak-of-powerf...

The move came a day after an online investigative news portal FactFocus published a story about the accumulation of wealth and property worth nearly $56 million by family members of General Qamar Javed Bajwa during his extended six-year term in office ending later this month

Pakistani Finance Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar's office said in a statement he had taken "serious notice" of the leak, calling it a violation of the tax law and breach of official confidential data.

Dar directed the chief investigator officer, an adviser to the prime minister on revenue, to "affix responsibility and submit a report within 24-hours," the statement concluded.

FactFocus alleged in its report Sunday that Bajwa's immediate and extended family members had exponentially expanded their domestic as well as foreign property and businesses since he took command of the Pakistan military in 2016.

The report went on to claim, citing leaked tax documents, that Bajwa's wife transferred funds overseas, making investments in oil business and the real estate, even though she was not an income tax filer until her husband's appointment to the office of the chief of army staff.

A spokesman at the military's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations, referred VOA to the finance ministry statement when asked for a response to the allegations.

The author of the report is a Pakistani journalist, Ahmad Noorani, who lives in the United States. Pakistani authorities allegedly blocked access to the online portal shortly after the report was published. Noorani also published the alleged wealth statements of Bajwa and his family from 2013 to 2021.

The FactFocus website calls itself a data-based investigative journalist platform. It has previously also published stories alleging corrupt practices of Pakistani officials and politicians while in power.

Bajwa is due to retire on November 29 and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's coalition government said Monday it was in the process of appointing the new military chief, possibly by the end of this week.

Criticizing the military or its leadership is an extremely sensitive issue in Pakistan. The army has staged four coups and ruled the nuclear-armed South Asian nation for about 33 years since it gained independence from Britain in 1947.

Former prime ministers and political parties lately and publicly have been regularly alleging the military institution continues to influence security and foreign policy matters and orchestrates the removal of elected governments if they don't fall in line.

Last month, the Pakistani spy chief, Lieutenant General Nadeem Ahmed Anjum, in a rare, televised news conference, stopped short of admitting the military had until last year been meddling in national political affairs.

"The army had an intense internal discussion, and [last year] we reached the conclusion the country's interest lies in us restricting ourselves to our constitutional role and remaining out of politics," said Anjum, the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence or ISI.

Critics remain skeptical about those claims and stress the need for the military to end its involvement in political affairs if democracy is to take solid root in Pakistan. Politicians are also accused of secretly forming alliances with the military to destabilize and eventually topple governments of their rivals.

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