Why is everyone avoiding the "T-Word"?

Ties between Wales and Norway go back a long way (Photo:BBC)

Norway is a nation Wales should seek to emulate in many ways.

It has some of the highest standards of living in the World and is near the top of nearly every single measurement of prosperity, freedom and happiness. The careful management of their natural resources since independence in 1905 has enabled them to create a beacon of hope that small, sparsely populated countries in Europe can succeed through their own efforts without relying on larger unions.

That doesn't mean that countries like Norway are perfect. Some of the most brutal, face-melting and nihilistic heavy metal music originated there. Black Metal could very well have been a reaction to the near perfect social/Christian democracy that's somehow alienated the young.

There are also active extremist groups on both the far-left, far-right and religious fundamentalists in some of the most unsuspecting places like the Netherlands, Sweden and closer to home.

What's surprising about the attacks in Oslo is the distinct lack of the word "terrorism" to describing it.

It's a "right-wing extremist", a "gunman" and "killing spree".

I imagine the reaction would be different had these outrages been carried out by an Islamist group or on behalf of Colonel Gaddafi.

Terrorism can and does originate from anywhere, any political persuasion and any ethnic or religious group. By typecasting terrorists as "jihadis" and using "terrorism" in a completely international context, governments and turning a blind eye to the conditions that might just spur on a coward (or cowards) from within their midst to attack government buildings and murder defenceless children.