I didn't read the article, but I suspect it is completely out of date. Python is at releases 2.6 and 3.0, and the class mechanism has been completely rewritten.
How did a Python 1.5 article made it to the front page?! If interesting at all, it is only for historical reasons, and let's face it, if you're interested in the history of programming languages, there are a few things more interesting than Python 1.5.