STONED Over the past ten years, the NYPD has busted 400,000 people for carrying small amounts of marijuana, making NYC the "Marijuana Arrest Capitol" of the USA. This is not a good thing, according to Queens College sociologist Harry G. Levine, who spearheaded a study that suggested the cops singled out minorities for these arrests. Between 1997 and 2007, 52 percent of these arrested suspects were black, 31 percent were Hispanic and 15 were percent white. Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, says that the findings prove that "racial profiling is a fact of life on the streets of New York." Uh… yeah. A spokesman for the NYPD called Levine an "advocate for marijuana legalization." Way to try to misdirect those racial profiling accusations! [WCBSTV]

Al Sharpton, who's probably all emotionally conflicted right now over the Sean Bell verdict — a mixture of genuine anger and "Oh, goody! News crews! Photographers!" — got a little threatening and serious at a press conference with Sean Bell's fiancee this weekend. Before a very angry crowd in Harlem (there were shouts of "Kill the police"), Sharpton said that he would return in the coming week "to plan the day that we will close this city down," with some sort of massive display of civil disobedience. Al Sharpton threatening to shut NYC holds the same innocuous menace as Heathcliff Huxtable telling Theo, "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out," except Sharpton didn't bring NYC into this world. If anything, he's one of the city's many eccentric children/characters who could have been raised no place but here. He also can't take the city out, and he runs the risk, as he often does when he gets involved in a cause of some kind, of trivializing the issue on a national level instead of calling positive attention to it. No word on what the NYC-breaking protest will be, but if it's about solving real, systemic problems in law enforcement and not one man's ego-driven grand-standing, and if it makes people think a little harder about the reason for the protest and not about Al Sharpton himself, color me pleasantly surprised. [AP]

• An ad that recently hit Atlanta airwaves that directly relates black unemployment and immigration has some worried that it's widening the racial divide. [CBS46]

• Oh, did we know that guy Bill Clinton got in a fight with Sunday was black? Does it make a difference? [NB]

• The best way to win Texas is to appeal to the racists? [AAS]

• "Does Obama Have An Asian Problem?" asks Time. [TIME]

• Nine out of 10 NYC subway riders stopped by police are black or Hispanic. [AMNY]

The NYC Tourism Board put together this commercial to lure people to this fine city I call home — where everything is super-clean and the Blacks, Latinos, and Asians all live underground (or are invisible!). What a city.

Jay-Z's dwindling record sales and unsure future at Def Jam might be getting the already business-minded rapper/exec into an even more entrepreneurial state of mind. Rumor has it Jay has plans to open a chain of luxury hotels called J-Hotels.

The Def Jam president has secured a development site in Chelsea to build the 150,000 square-foot luxury hotel that will serve as the flagship for a planned expansion into other cities.

According to GlobeSt.com, the site was purchased by Jay-Z partners Charles Blaichman of CB Developers and Abram Shnay, along with son Scott Shnay, of SK Development Group in two separate transactions – the acquisition of the base site for $51 million, followed by the acquisition of the air rights for $15.4 million, totaling $66.4 million.

The J-Hotel will be located in the gallery district between 10th and 11th avenues at 510 W. 22nd St., also known as 511 W. 21st St.

I hope he knows in advance that it will probably hurt business if Memphis Bleek and Beanie Sigel are loitering in the lobby.

• The NAACP of Bangor, Maine, had to cancel its Kwanzaa celebration because of threats. Excuse me for missing the point, but Bangor, Maine has an NAACP? [BN]

• The highly-celebrated NY Fire Department might finally improve its dismal diversity reputation. A record number of women, Hispanics, and blacks passed the exam this year. [NYT]

• Grady Memorial Hospital, the only public hospital in Atlanta, might be forced to close it's doors, leaving patients, who are overwhelming black and poor, in the lurch. [AP]

• Most people who have underestimated Oprah Winfrey over the years have ended up having to eat their words. I'm just saying. [CT]

• A bad marriage can kill you. Literally. [CNN]

• Republicans want more minority involvement? Could have fooled me. [TBO]

• The Jena mayor is pissed about John Mellencamp and Mos Def's Jena Six video, but no one really cares. [SFGate]

• The price is wrong, Barker. [TWN]

• An African Burial Ground Memorial opened in NYC last week in a spot that was supposed to be turned into a parking lot. [Reuters]

Barack Obama has drawn tens of thousands of supporters to rallies in Austin, Oakland, and Atlanta, but his rally in New York City's Washington Square Park yesterday topped them all, bringing in 24,000 supporters, according to his campaign.

He spoke for 41 minutes, and tried to convince voters to choose him over the more obvious choice.

“There are easier choices to make in this election,” he said.

Bathed in the glow of floodlights, Mr. Obama addressed thousands of people who stood shoulder-to-shoulder, stretching from one side of the park to the other.

“There are those in this race for the presidency who are touting their experience working the system, but the problem is that the system isn’t working for us,” Mr. Obama said. “There are those who are saying you should be looking for someone who can play the game better, but the problem is that the game has been rigged. The time is too serious the stakes are too high to play the same game over and over again.”

It's great that he had a successful rally and all, but, uh, shouldn't he be in Iowa right about now?

[NYT, WI]

The first shots of Jennifer Hudson on the set of the Sex and the City movie are in, and, well, here's hoping her character, Carrie's assistant, is supposed to be a fashion victim of sorts. Otherwise, I just don't know what to think.

[WI]

My favorite black candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination and yours, Barack Obama, was snapped yesterday being chauffeured around New York City. Because we all know he wouldn't have been able to catch a cab…

[WI]

• Black political scientists, besides the big-names like Donna Brazile, are largely overlooked by news stations, although "the black vote" is always being discussed. [BAW]

• Diabetes is especially bad in New York City, particularly (surprise!) among blacks and Hispanics. [NYDN]

• Baldwin Hills both busts and reinforces stereotypes. [NYT]

• Management at a California Ritz-Carlton should have treated their black and Hispanic employees a bit better. [CC]

• Older black women at high risk can't really be bothered with getting tested for HIV. [SD]

Tyra Banks, who announced her NYC arrival Monday in the most obnoxious way possible (see above and below), was a little more discreet at a send-off party for her Marine brother, Devin.

Spies spotted the former Victoria's Secret model at Chin Chin on East 49th Street last Friday at a "very private" party for her younger brother, Devin Banks, an Air Force cadet who is leaving for Iraq on Aug. 9. "Tyra was with her brother and their mom and Devin's wife. Everyone was hugging and kissing and sending him off." A rep for Banks declined to comment about her patriotic family.

She flew relatively under the radar in LA, mainly because the paps have bigger (or should I say, smaller and whiter?) fish to fry, like Paris, Lindsay, Hilary, Nicole, Hayden, etc. But the NY press seems inordinately excited about Tyra's arrival. There goes her privacy — and John Utendahl's.

[NYP, MG]