Jeremy Scahill, author of the bestselling book Blackwater [3], notes that "Blackwater Worldwide [4], the Bush administration [5]'s favorite mercenary company, is no stranger to blood -- its operatives have caused a lot of it to be spilled in Iraq [6]. ... This week, the company received an award from the American Red Cross [7] ... for Blackwater's recent blood drive, where company employees reportedly gave 264 units of blood. 'That means that well over 600 lives have been saved in this region,' said Georgia Donaldson of the Mid Atlantic region Red Cross. The group presented Blackwater's owner, Erik Prince [8] with a plaque honoring the company. ... This isn't the first time Blackwater and the Red Cross teamed up [9]. After Hurricane Katrina [10], where Blackwater raked in over $70 million in federal 'security' contracts, the company held a Red Cross fundraiser and pulled in $138,000 -- about $100,000 short of Blackwater's estimated daily take at the height of its Katrina operations. The keynote speaker at that event? L. Paul Bremer [11], the original head of the US occupation."