I think it's a cool idea. It doesn't appear that the blog author understands what it's about (or else he wouldn't talk about spam). It's only for people mentioned in the article. That allows you to offer corrections when misquoted, etc.
why not. I personally love the discussion around news. From what I read, Google is only allowing comments from those related to the news article somehow. Could be a good means for more follow-up. Though, Im curious as to how well that is going to work out.