The UN, Home of the Foregone Conclusion

James Taranto heads this one "Shoddy but Indisputable":

A group of top scientists from around the world will review the research and management practices of the United Nations climate change panel so that it can try to avoid the kinds of errors that have brought its work into question in recent months, officials said Wednesday.

Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general of the United Nations, said that the InterAcademy Council, a consortium of the world's most prestigious scientific societies, would name scientists to take a thorough look at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The panel has come under sharp attack after revelations of several mistakes in its most recent report, published in 2007, including a poorly sourced and exaggerated account of how quickly the Himalayan glaciers are melting.

Scientists and officials say that the panel's finding that the earth is warming--probably as a result of human activity--remains indisputable.

Taranto comments:

Don't you love that? They're going to review the panel's work under the condition that its conclusions be accepted in advance as "indisputable." If that doesn't restore public faith in the integrity of climate science, nothing will!

The rationale for my header: Such activity is typical for the UN, which often prefers to arrive at its conclusions before conducting the "investigation" (paging Judge Goldstone). Hey, you gotta go with what works, right?