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BBC set to sue UK Minister over Iraq ‘lies’ claim
The unprecedented row between the UK government and the BBC took a dramatic twist last night when Andrew Gilligan, the reporter at the centrer of claims that Number 10 Downing St. deliberately “sexed up” evidence against Saddam Hussein, announced he was ready to sue a serving Minister.
Gilligan, the defence correspondent for Radio 4’s Today program, said that he would take legal action against Phil Woolas, the Deputy Leader of the House, unless he received a full apology for allegations made against him.
The threat of legal action center on a letter sent by Woolas to Gilligan which claimed that the reporter had misled the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, which is conducting an inquiry into the Government’s handling of the run-up to war.
The letter pushes the row between the BBC and the government into uncharted territory. It is unprecedented for a member of the BBC’s staff to threaten legal action against the Government. (Observer (UK))

Arabs: Hollywood’s new stock villains
Hollywood has a new top villain, who has taken over from those old foes, American Indians and Communists.
According to a new report, Arabs in films are portrayed in a derogatory way 96 percent of the time.
The report in the July issue of Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science says they have been depicted as rogues for the best part of a century.
Based on a study of more than 900 films, the report says: “Moviemakers’ distorted lenses have shown Arabs as heartless, brutal, uncivilized, religious fanatics through common depictions of Arabs kidnapping or raping a fair maiden; expressing hatred against the Jews and Christians; and demonstrating a love for wealth and power.” (Independent Digital (UK))

Israel cuts off ties with BBC
Israel has declared it is cutting off ties with the BBC to protest a repeat broadcast on non-conventional weapons said to be in Israel.
The boycott decision was made by Israel’s public relations forum, made up of representatives from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Foreign Ministry, and the Government Press Office. It was decided that government offices won’t assist BBC producers and reporters, that Israeli officials will not give interviews to the British network, and that the Government Press Office will make it difficult for BBC employees to get press cards and work visas in Israel.
The forum members were furious at the trailers to the program, which showed pictures of the Dimona nuclear reactor and the biological institute in Nes Tziona, with the narratorsaying, “Which country in the Middle East has not declared the nuclear and biological weapons in its possession?” (Haaretz)