"As Burma?s Nov. 7 election draws near, The Irrawaddy and other Burmese exile media are on something akin to a nonviolent war footing, a position forced upon them by the distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on their websites on Sept. 27—the third anniversary of the 2007 Saffron Revolution protests. At risk is nothing less than freedom of speech and the right of media to cover important political events such as the Burmese elections. The notion that an election can be ?free and fair? without impartial and independent media coverage is, of course, absurd. According to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF): ?It is essential that these [Burmese exile] websites continue to operate in order to provide the Burmese people and the rest of the world with independent news and information about the upcoming election.?..."