Does Accused WikiLeaker Deserve a Medal?

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Hero or Zero?

Berkeley, California's city council plans to vote on a resolution declaring the Army private suspected of leaking classified documents to the WikiLeaks website a hero and calling for his release.

The city's Peace and Justice Commission has already approved the resolution supporting Private First Class Bradley Manning who is being held in a Virginia brig. The author of the resolution says Manning is a patriot who deserves a medal.

As we've reported, federal officials have said the leaks could endanger lives. The full city council is expected to vote on this on Tuesday.

Up in Smoke

Al Gore's climate group is downsizing with the failure of global warming legislation in Congress.

Politico reports the Alliance for Climate Protection was operating in about 25 states at its peak, but the group now has field operations in just seven states.

A spokesman calls the operation "nimble" and notes the situation in Congress has changed so -- quote -- "our strategies and tactics have changed along with it."

Hot Topic

United Nations' climate negotiators continue talks in Mexico about fighting global warming as the host city deals with unusually low temperatures.

Cancun's normal low for this week is 70 degrees. Today the low so far is 50. Accuweather says these temperatures are some of the coldest they've seen.

As far as the talks go, the Associated Press writes "even the modest ambitions the conference set for itself were proving stubborn to realize."

Rain or Shine

And finally, Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez is blaming developed nations for incessant rains inundating his country.

Chavez complained in his weekly column -- quote -- "the world's powerful economies insist on a destructive way of life and then refuse to take any responsibility."

However, Reuters notes "Venezuela is an unlikely climate champion, given it is a major global oil exporter and also a famously consumerist society."