Another Unofficial Post Office Opening in Tottenham

MP David Lammy (second from right) cuts a ribbon at the Tottenham High Road Post Office. Council adviser Chris Lane (from left to right), Postmaster Daksha Rao, Councillor Allan Strickland and branch owner Vipin Rao attend the proceedings.

Tottenham MP David Lammy cut an unofficial ribbon for the neighborhood's recently reopened post office Friday. The restored business has been a welcome sight for locals, who had to travel out of the immediate area to get mail for months, after rioters burned the original office in August.

There's a lull, but Tottenham up and running

The streets of Tottenham look busier than they did in the weeks following a riot. The burned post office has been replaced, as have most of the broken windows.

But it's still not quite the Tottenham it once was says, local shop owner Bulent  Huseyin.

Hotspurs Stay Put - Good for Business

Tottenham's 130 year old football club won't be relocating to another borough anytime soon, much to the delight of MP David Lammy, and no doubt Tottenham businesses. Club management pledged to revitalize Haringey after the attempted move to an Olympic Park stadium in East London failed.

Haringey Council Justifies Union Negotiator Salary

Haringey Council rebuffed claims that it spent public funds poorly on the borough’s National Union of Teacher’s negotiator. Responding to a recent article in the Evening Standard, the Council said the annual salary of £35,000 for the union representative actually saved money.

“It’s more efficient for the council to negotiate with a designated rep rather than thousands of teachers, which would be more expensive,” a spokesperson said.

US Judge rules on Difference Between Blogger and Journalist

A ruling by a federal judge in Oregon could shape future definitions of those considered journalists and those who aren't in the United States. 

The US district judge found a Montana blogger was not protected by shield laws for journalists, because she was not employed by a mainstream publication, nor did she make an effort to be unbiased or have any credentials.

She was ordered to pay $2.5 million in damages to a lawyer for calling him a thief and a thug.

Makes $30,000 for some journalism school bona fides look better.

Read the AP's full story.

Wikileaks and the Spy Files

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange prepares to present Spy Files, an examination of the global surveillance industry

Wikileaks says Big Brother is watching and has been for quite some time. Today Julian Assange announced the organization's release of more than 280 files detailing the activities of an international surveillance industry.

"Who here has an iphone? Who here has a Blackberry? Who here uses Gmail? Well you're all screwed," he told journalists and students at a press conference. "The reality is intelligence contractors are selling, right now, mass surveillance systems for all those products."

Heard around Tottenham

A local councillor predicts a thriving cultural scene, especially in hip hop music, will revive the borough regardless of how much assistance the government provides the area.

For their part, however, Tottenham traders fret that if money from the Riot (Damages) Act doesn't arrive soon, they'll go out of business.

A young musician says the success of rappers from around London, like Chipmunk in the north and Tinie Tempah in the south, has forced all aspiring artists to raise their game.