Grr, NYT paywall annoys me sometimes. Saved me some time though, seems like link bait after reading the first two paragraphs (and leaving).
I just now tried with Safari, after turning off JavaScript. No problem viewing the entire article, including pictures. Of course I reset Safari before opening the URL, just to make sure there were no existing cookies, etc.
I love the NYT paywall. The only way they could have made it easier to bypass would have been to include directions on how to disable JavaScript at the top of every page! BTW this is deliberate. It's not like they're idiots. They intentionally decided to make the paywall easy to get around.
Of all the things that I spend money on each month, though, the $15 that I send to NYT is easily the one I feel that I get the most value from.
Never attribute to cleverness what can be adequately explained by incompetence.
Edit: Afterwards. I'd be more inclined to believe them if they had said it from the start.
http://paidcontent.org/2013/02/11/new-york-times-plugs-big-l...
"While critics say the gaps highlight flaws in the newspapers' new business model, the Times says the holes are deliberate and meant to encourage openness across the Internet."
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/paywall-york-times-readers-...
Also remember reading a couple quotes by NY Times execs/spokespeople that it was intentional.