Stuck with the Bastard, Thank God

There can be consolation in disappointment, although it sometimes requires a moment’s reflection to locate the pony in a room full of the most malodourous manure — in this case the bipedal ordure known as  Abdul Nacer Benbrika (above). For those whose memories have faded, the imam was arrested in 2005 with 16 of his acolytes and convicted three years later of planning attacks on numerous targets, including the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor, the AFL Grand Final and, swept away by vaulting jihadist ambition, the assassination of the infidel John Howard. At his Melbourne trial Benbrika made his contempt for Australia manifest. Rejecting any authority but Allah, he refused to stand when the judge entered or left the courtroom and thus put his contempt on the record for the institutions of the country that granted him residency in 1989 and citizenship nine years later.

Today the High Court ruled Benbrika is an Australian citizen — and an Australian citizen he must remain. The…