Bush is blowing off the U.N. climate meeting happening this week, choosing instead to focus on his parallel international climate meetings. I ask you to savor the multiple absurdities embedded in this paragraph in the NYT:

Mr. Bush's aides say that the parallel meeting does not compete against the United Nations' process -- hijacking it, as his critics charge. They say that Mr. Bush hopes to persuade the nations that produce 90 percent of the world's emissions to come to a consensus that would allow each, including the United States, to set its own policies rather than having limits imposed by binding international treaty.

Yeah, you read that right: "persuade the nations .. to come to a consensus that would allow each ... to set its own policies rather than having limits imposed by binding international treaty."

He wants to persuade them to set their own policies rather than submitting to a climate treaty.

But that's not supposed to affect the UN process, nosiree.