Residents from Black River, St. Elizabeth, are sounding the alarm, and frankly, it’s hard not to share their outrage. In the fragile hours after the hurricane swept through, what should have been a coordinated, decisive government response instead looked like hesitation, confusion, and absence.

Some people are alleging that the relief agencies on the ground were ineffective—no tents, no structured food program, no organized medical presence. In a disaster of this scale, essential services should have been stationed and ready: emergency tents, mobile clinics, water and sanitation units, ground teams tracking displaced residents, and a rapid deployment of resources to stabilize those most affected. That simply did not happen. Instead, helicopters circled overhead, assessing the destruction from a distance, while families on the ground waited—hungry, exposed, unaccounted for.

Displaced residents still don’t have proper shelter. They don’t have a central point of service. They don’t have a coordinated system guiding them toward safety, medical care, or basic necessities.

In 2025, after so many global lessons in disaster management, this should never be the story. And yet here we are.

Let’s be clear: relief comes before rebuilding. Before talk of construction, procurement, or long-term recovery, there must be tents, food, water, sanitation, health services, child protection services, and community support teams on the ground immediately. That’s Emergency Response 101. You stabilize the people, then you move to rebuilding the community.

But from all accounts, Jamaica’s government response is lagging—and community members are noticing. Many are openly saying that if it weren’t for people like Shaggy and other Jamaican celebrities abroad, flying in and stepping up, many families would still be starving, stranded, and forgotten.

It shouldn't take celebrity intervention for people to get basic relief.So the question stands like a heavy drumbeat: What is going on?

Why weren’t emergency tents pre-positioned? Why wasn’t there an immediate medical and sanitation rollout? Why do residents have to beg for what should be automatic in a disaster? And most importantly: Who is accountable for this breakdown, and when will the people of Black River get the relief they deserve?

By Rev. Renaldo C McKenzie, Author of "Neoliberalism. Globalization, Income Inequality Poverty and Resistance".

Read the full article in The Neoliberal Journals at https://theneoliberal.com

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Question: Is there an attempt by Mainstream Media through movies and ads to ILLEGITIMIZE Podcasts?

Recently, Netflix released a limited series called The Beast in Me. The series seems to use sly tactics to sow doubt in people's minds about the legitimacy of podcasters. Renaldo discusses this in his soliloquy raising the alarm about mainstream media's attempts to re-centralize and re-monopolize its hold over communication and information.

Renaldo plays an excerpt of the series and presents his arguments.

What do you think; do you agree with Renaldo's assessment and opinion here about the attack on podcasters by mainstream? Send us your feedback.

Renaldo is Author of Neoliberalism, and President of The Neoliberal Corporation.

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A Black patient is raising serious concerns about his recent hospitalization at Hackensack Meridian Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, New Jersey, alleging that he experienced inadequate care, premature discharge, poor communication, and treatment that left him feeling marginalized and medically unsafe.
The patient, admitted after collapsing on a tennis court, reports that in six days of hospitalization, he was never examined by a physician. Instead, he interacted solely with nurses and physician assistants. During this period, he says he continued to suffer the same symptoms—dizziness, fainting episodes, chest heaviness, and weakness—that initially led to his emergency admission.
According to his account, diagnostic tests were performed without explanation, and results were either withheld or presented with incomplete or conflicting narratives. He states that medical staff attempted to discharge him despite persistent symptoms and without providing a follow-up discussion regarding an echocardiogram that revealed a bicuspid aortic valve—a congenital defect that can affect blood flow.
He also reports that his dietary restrictions were ignored, with meals containing red meat and cheese despite repeated requests.
One of the most troubling events he describes occurred during an attempted discharge: hospital staff reportedly instructed him to walk off the unit despite ongoing dizziness. While waiting at the pharmacy, he collapsed and had to be readmitted. He alleges that a nurse immediately went into “defensive mode” rather than assessing his condition, and that the emergency department doctor’s system review revealed that he was still listed as an admitted patient, raising questions about the legitimacy of the initial discharge.
The patient further states that a psychiatrist was sent to his room, though he had reported no psychiatric symptoms. He interprets this as part of a broader pattern in which Black patients’ physical complaints are reframed as psychological, leading to delays in proper medical evaluation.
On the day of his final discharge, an occupational therapist conducted orthostatic testing—a check for blood pressure changes with movement—and found significant fluctuations, along with visible unsteadiness in his gait. The therapist reportedly advised that he should not be discharged and recommended additional medical evaluation, including a head CT. However, the patient says no physician ever followed up, and the discharge proceeded despite these findings.
When he requested to speak with hospital leadership about his concerns, he was met with a nurse manager and a nurse practitioner—neither of whom, he reports, addressed the outstanding medical issues or explained the decisions surrounding his care.
The patient ultimately left the hospital still dizzy and weak, stating he did not feel he had received adequate care or clear medical guidance.
His experience raises pressing questions about medical equity, communication, discharge protocols, and the treatment of Black and Brown patients in clinical settings.

Hackensack Meridian Health at Riverview has not provided comment on these allegations. But we did speak with a Representative from Patient Experience about the issues and the Experience, we recorded the conversation and it’s available on The Neoliberal Round Podcast season 15 Episode 1.

Submitted by Rev. Renaldo McKenzie, Creator and Host and President of The Neoliberal.