Kurt, this is a very slippery slope, and definitely not a path that the core developers of either project are keen to follow. After a period of deep divide, we’ve worked together to encourage a state of friendly and collaborative competition between our two incredible desktop projects. This is an important strength, one which I encourage you to take very seriously.
You have read an article without applying some necessary critical analysis. Journalists are naturally attracted to conflict and oppositions - the lifeblood of news and current events, whether it involves ideas, people, organisations or countries. In this case, you need to consider the GNOME Foundation’s OSC press release, what you know of GNOME’s interests and motivations, and a journalist’s interpretation and analysis of the events.
Put simply, the GNOME Foundation was invited to participate in a marketing partnership with another organisation. This is not an earth-shaking event, but is worth a press release and some associated press. I’m sure the journalist in question was happy to see an angle in the story that could imply conflict. Do you think this minor point in the journalist’s analysis necessarily represents the GNOME Foundation’s intent? I would hope not, but it seems you have. 
Unfortunately, your blog entry about this expresses conflict in an open and unattractive way - precisely the kind of expression that inks a journalist’s pen, and damages everyone’s efforts! If we allow the media to focus on infighting within the FOSS community, they will, and every line devoted to it will be one less line devoted to our successes.
In the meantime, the jury is firmly out when it comes to deciding which desktop has greater market share. KDE certainly does very well in online polls (which tend to have a very narrow, technical audience), but are you comfortable using those? I wouldn’t be. I’m doing my part for KDE by championing Kubuntu, which has all the right ingredients to become the most incredible KDE distribution available, both for users and developers. (And the best bit is that you can actually get deeply involved in its development, just like Ubuntu.)
I did an interview a while back with a journalist who was fiercely courting controversial issues. His aggressively targeted questions were intended, primarily, to harass. My (cunningly?) uncontroversial answers forced him to include an introduction in which he could make his opinion known (“one can’t dictate answers”). I was angry, but it was delightful to watch his journalistic integrity splatter all over the floor! Most journalists won’t go to such an extreme effort to find conflict - but if you give it to them on a silver platter, they’ll gladly take it.
Most important is this: We have a wonderful environment of friendly and collaborative competition, and have avoided unnecessary bitterness for a long time. Please don’t mess with it lightly.
