It's time for reality in the U.N.

Things are heating up in the Lens' world, both in serious and semi-serious orbits.

First, we have the attempt by the Palestinian Authority, or at least the part of it governed by the Fatah party, to petition the United Nations for full membership. The PA, which rules the West Bank territories given up by Israel in 1992, says it needs this membership because Israel refuses to negotiate in good faith.

That, my friends, is the dictionary definition of sophistry or, in a less refined milieu, pure bull crap.

The PA, through its president, Abu Mazen, says Israel refused to negotiate in good faith two years ago because it refused to extend a 10-month moratorium on building new homes for Israelis. What pro-Palestinian outlets, including The New York Times, consistently fail to mention is that the PA did not come to the table until nine of the 10 months had passed.

Then the PA sat down and the first thing it demanded was an extension of the moratorium. There were Israeli citizens waiting for homes and Palestinian workmen waiting to get back to work building them. So, Israel said no to this demand and the PA walked.

Another piece of bovine defecation swirling around the cesspool of misinformation put out by the PA is the business of East Jerusalem.

There is no such place. Never was. Jerusalem is and always has been one city over the past 3,000 years. In 1948, the Jordanian Army, the Arab Legion, took Jerusalem from the Jews who had lived there for thousands of years. In 1967, the Israeli Defense Forces took it, as well as the West Bank, back from Jordan.

When Jordan ruled this territory, two things were true that are not true now. First, no Jews could go to Jewish holy sites in Jordanian-controlled Jerusalem or the West Bank. Secondly, there was not one peep about self-determination from the Arabs who were ruled by Amman.

So, now we have to listen to Hanan Ashwari, that rich Palestinian liar, who spews her poison without any questions from American so-called journalists. She is given a free hand to spew her lies, half truths and flights of fancy. Why?

Put a sock in it?

My other problem these days is the rapidly sinking ship called the Boston Red Sox.

Just now, they lost to the Baltimore Orioles, a team with one of the worst records in baseball this year. They are now only a game and a half ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays for the wild card in the American League.

Yes, they are beaten up. Many of the stars such as Kevin Youkilis and Clay Buchholz are either playing hurt or not at all. Adrian Gonzalez suddenly can't hit. Carl Crawford, never worth the astronomical sum he is being paid, has a stiff neck. JD Drew, well, the less said about him the better. He's gone.

Pitching is pathetic. The rotation is the sick, lame and old. Last night's game was horrible. A wild pitch, four passed balls. This guy won his 200th game. Enough. Isn't there anyone who can pitch in the farm system?

And then there are the playing stars. David Ortiz seems to be the only guy who can hit, except for Marco Scutaro and, not often enough, Dustin (the lunger) Pedroia. Jacoby Ellsbury is doing fine, but it's not enough.

It's time, Sox, to get it going. If you cannot beat Baltimore, maybe it's time to rethink the hiring practices, get rid of the dead wood, and win some damn games.

Until next time...