That does not, however, explain why the Register put it up on their website --- and then took it down.
Horribly bad judgment all around.
Indeed. When people have gone dotty, it's important for those around them to recognize it and keep them away from cameras, audio recorders, and keyboards. (Pat Robertson springs to mind, as someone who's been having Extremely Stupid outbreaks, apparently unchecked.)
It's hard, though, when a person was once very impressive, when he was "all there."