I've had an opportunity to discuss this with a friend of mine who flys military A330s. He hasn't had a chance to read the report, but when I queried him on the pilot's maintenance of a nose-up attitude, his only explanation was that they believed they were in an over-speed situation, rather than a stall.
Incidently, I flew from London to Sydney on A340s several days ago, and I couldn't help but imagine the aircraft falling from our cruise in little over 3 minutes! It was the first time I've EVER felt uncomfortable on an aircraft. This should never have happened, and the boffins who design these modern marvels need to make sure the pilots retain the authority and ability to recover an aircraft in distress.
Someone else mentioned that a 747 would 'roll over and do what you want it to' in such a situation. I can't comment on the differences between the two manufacturers, but it would appear to me from various comments I've read that Airbus needs to incorporate some slightly more pilot-intuitive aspects to the way the aircraft relates to its crew.
As a pilot who trained in the military, I'm still shocked and dismayed by the chain of events that unfolded.