Panama's Noriega is extradited from US to France

The former Panamanian leader, Manuel Noriega, has been extradited to France by the United States after spending more than 20 years in a prison there.US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed a "surrender warrant" after all judicial challenges were resolved.
French officials later confirmed he was on board an Air France flight to Paris.
A court in France convicted Noriega in his absence in 1999 for laundering money through French banks, though it says he will be granted a new trial.
The 76-year-old had wanted to be sent back to Panama after finishing his 17-year jail sentence in 2007.
But in February the US Supreme Court rejected his final appeal against extradition to France.

ANALYSIS Steve Kingstone, BBC News, Washington Manuel Noriega had been in US custody since 1990, after the US military invaded Panama during the administration of the first President Bush. Convicted of cocaine trafficking and racketeering, he served a sentence that ended three years ago. But he had remained in custody pending extradition to France, where he was convicted - in his absence - of money laundering in 1999. Noriega's lawyers say his trial in America breached the Geneva Convention, as he had been classified as a prisoner of war when he was brought to the US. His legal team had also opposed his extradition to France, but the US Supreme Court ruled against him. His lawyers hope that once he's landed in Paris he'll at least be granted a second trial. Noriega is expected to be brought before a judge later on Tuesday; his lawyer will probably argue he should be bailed pending further proceedings, though one suspects that is extremely unlikely.

Panama's government said it respected the "sovereign decision" the state department took to extradite Noriega.
But it insisted it would seek his return to serve outstanding prison sentences there.
Noriega was escorted onto an Air France passenger jet at Miami International Airport on Monday afternoon, shortly after Mrs Clinton signed the extradition order, US officials said.
French prison officials took custody of him once he was on board, sources in Paris told the AFP news agency.
A spokesman for the French justice ministry, Guillaume Didier, said that when Noriega arrived in Paris on Tuesday morning, he would go before prosecutors to be notified of the arrest warrant against him.
A judge would then decide whether to place him under temporary detention until his case was referred to a criminal court, he added.
Mr Didier said France had been notified of the extradition two weeks ago.
But Noriega's lawyer in Miami, Frank Rubino, told the BBC he had not been notified and had only learned of his client's transfer from the media.
"Usually the government has - does things in a more professional manner and respects common courtesy and we're shocked that they didn't," he said.
"I'm surprised that they didn't put a black hood over his head and drag him out in the middle of the night," he added.
'Prisoner of war'
Noriega was Panama's military intelligence chief for several years before becoming commander of the powerful National Guard in 1982 and then de facto ruler of the country.
He had been recruited by the CIA in the late 1960s and was supported by the US until 1987.
But in 1988 his indictment in the US on charges of drug trafficking left frayed relations.

WHO IS MANUEL NORIEGA? Became de facto ruler of Panama in 1983, head of defence forces Formerly one of Washington's top allies in Latin America US later accused him of drug-trafficking and election-rigging Surrendered to invading US troops in 1990 and was flown to the US Also faces a 20-year sentence at home imposed by Panama court Amazing fall from grace Q&A: Noriega extradition

After a disputed parliamentary election the following year, Noriega declared a "state of war".
A tense stand-off followed between US forces stationed in the Panama Canal zone and Panamanian troops.
By mid-December, the situation had worsened so much that President George H W Bush launched an invasion - ostensibly because a US marine had been killed in Panama City, although the operation had long been planned.
Noriega initially took refuge in the Vatican embassy, where US troops bombarded him for days with deafening pop and heavy metal music.
He eventually surrendered on 3 January 1990 and was taken to Miami for trial.
In 1992, he was convicted of drug trafficking, money laundering and racketeering.
He was handed down a 40-year prison sentence, later reduced to 30 years, and then 17 years for good behaviour.
Noriega was convicted in absentia in France in 1999 for allegedly using $3m (£1.9m) in proceeds from the drug trade to buy luxury apartments in Paris, and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Shortly before the completion of his US jail sentence, the French government sought Noriega's extradition.
When his lawyers attempted to fight the request, he was forced to remain in US custody in Miami.
His legal team argued that he should not have been extradited to a third country such as Franc.
They said that as a prisoner of war of the US, the Geneva Conventions required Noriega to be returned to Panama.
But the US Supreme Court upheld a federal appeals court ruling that the US government could send him to France without violating his rights as a prisoner of war.

@'BBC'

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The Black Dog  FACT Mix

Tracks:
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02. The Black Dog – Tunnels Ov Set (Autechre Remix)
03. The Black Dog – Dada Mindstab (Live Mix)
04. The Black Dog – Future Delay Thinking (Live Mix)
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07. The Black Dog – Siiiipher (Bass Soldier Remix)
08. The Black Dog – Northern Electronic Soul (Claro Intelecto Remix)
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First post here

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Net filter patronises the digital generation

Illustration: Robin Cowcher

Would somebody please not think of the children. At least not while we are discussing internet censorship. This may sound like an odd request given that, historically, almost all censorship debates have pivoted around children and the need to protect them. But moral panics and fear-mongering campaigns concerning "the helpless children" often muddy what could otherwise be rational, evidenced-based debates.

And there is no easier way to get an otherwise progressive, reasonable parent to endorse an illogical, anti-democratic censorship regime than by appealing to (and exploiting) their deep-seated fears concerning their children.

But here's the thing. Censorship debates over child safety have little to do with actual flesh and blood children. If they did then they would acknowledge and include the voices and views of young people and they would recognise the competencies and strengths that children bring to online interactions.

After all, while children may be vulnerable to certain elements of the internet, they are typically more digitally savvy than the rest of us, precisely because they have grown up with the World Wide Web.

But conservative moralisers rarely acknowledge this. Instead they tend to hinge their arguments on the patronising, victimised view of children as inherently vulnerable and corruptible. Even worse, by using the figure of the innocent child as a political pawn to advance their own agenda, conservatives are guilty of exploiting children.

And when you think about it, it is a cunning move because anyone who disagrees with the censorship plan is instantly cast as being anti-child welfare, or worse, pro-paedophilia. But this only silences and skews debate.

As someone who lobbies fiercely for the rights of survivors of sexual assault and young people in general, I can say that the best way to protect children is to stop talking about them as though they are vulnerable Oliver Twist-type caricatures awaiting corruption by the big bad world. Instead, we should start talking with our children and empowering them by building on their strengths and by providing them with practical tools to negotiate the online world.

And here is the sad reality. The proposed censorship plan is not going to stop paedophilia or child exploitation. This is because most paedophilia is committed by a person who is known to the child and who has direct access to the child — most often this is a family member.

Similarly most of the illegal pornographic content on the internet is actually being transmitted through decentralised, peer-to-peer networks and these networks will continue to operate irrespective of the proposed filter.

In short, Senator Conroy's proposed censorship plan is not going to succeed in what it has been designed to achieve. It will be an expensive, unpopular mistake.

It is important, though, that we continue to have conversations about children, pornography and unwanted sexual advances.

In recent years the stereotype of the trenchcoat-clad paedophile who lurks around public parks armed with lollies and other enticing sweets has been replaced by the equally cliched image of the internet-addicted paedophile who trolls chatrooms looking for vulnerable children.

There is no question that sexual predators use the internet to groom potential victims. There is also no question that paedophiles are using the internet to network and to share resources as well as the hideous tips and techniques they use.

But when talking to young people about online interactions, it is important that we keep in mind the fact that the most frequent unwanted sexual advances made against young people online, are actually being made by their peers.

As adults we often dismiss such advances as being harmless sexual socialisation and flirtation. But there is no reason to assume that it is easier for young people to negotiate and deflect the unwanted advances made by peers compared to those made by strangers — no matter how calculating those strangers are. It is also problematic to assume that those advances are not experienced as intimidating and coercive, simply because they are being made by their peers.

On the contrary knowing how to negotiate a sexual advance made by a peer or a friend may be far more difficult than telling a complete stranger to back off.

Fear of rejection, fear of ostracism within peer networks, and fear of appearing prudish make it very difficult for young people to navigate the complex social dynamics that frame their online lives.

While it's important that we remain vigilant about adult sexual offenders then, it is also important that we acknowledge the wide range of experiences that young people have, and that we do not ignore certain behaviours simply because those behaviours don't conform to out stereotyped views of what sexual offences look like.

It is also important that we don't demonise the internet. For young people everywhere online communication and social networking sites form an important part of social identity construction and it's not realistic to simply ban children from connecting and communicating online.

The answer, as usual, is that we should talk with young people, listen to their concerns and allow them the space to think through and reflect on their own experiences. Navigating internet traffic and sexual encounters is never easy, but that's precisely why we need to start young by arming children and teens with as much age-appropriate information as possible. Most importantly, it's vital that hysteria and panic is replaced by education and reasoned discussion.

Nina Funnell @'The Age'