Sorry to revive the post, but I thought the overall theme was an interesting one, and wanted to add a few things.
I turned off all cookies (in FF) and appeared to be able to browse the site without any requests to set a cookie.
The report link in the Google interstitual goes to a third party reporting site (SBW) , which performs their own independent review of sites. In this case, Google has submitted the site to SBW, but they have not performed an evaluation. No report just means is that the site is pending review.
Being a news index, it's possible they have unintentionally linked to malware sites in the past. It's also possible that the shear amount of javascript being used, and the way in which it is used, on the site tripped Google's testing algorithm, causing it to be added to the SBW index. One of the criteria for being classified as "badware" is the following: software that includes ... slowed computer processing and when personal information is collected without your permission. It's possible that they have unintentionally failed on these fronts.
Not that it matters much, but having said all of the above, I personally agree with the decision to remove it from the directory. Google has far more resources dedicated to evaluating a site than I do. However, if I were them (and, for the record, I'm not), and I wasn't doing anything malicious, I would go to SBW and ask for a review of the site. I assume that by receiving a clean bill of health, the malware designation from Google could easily be lifted. At that time, I would hope that the ODP editors would make it a priority to re-instate the site, based on the situation.
