It's one of those days again when it appears that none of the Dutch front pages shares a single story. Amsterdam's troubled new metro line gets more coverage, while the threat of terrorism recedes. Parents old and new are in the limelight and there's some tut-tutting about Copenhagen.
 

De Volkskrant chooses to lead with a damning report (due out today) on the troubled construction of Amsterdam's new metro link, the North-South Line. The inquiry concludes that the City Council should never have given the project the green light in 2002.

The North-South Line's problems could seem amusing if Amsterdam residents weren't picking up the bill. It was due to be completed in 2011, but it is now hoped that it will be completed in 2017. The estimated final cost has more than doubled from 1.4 billion euros to well over 3 billion.
 

The report slams Amsterdam council for playing down the technical, logistical and financial risks in the face of a political desire to go ahead with the high-status project. While the council did not have the necessary know-how to judge the feasibility of the idea, councillors appear to have been too arrogant to seek expert advice.
 

Despite paying lip service to the idea, not enough thought was given to the inconvenience the project would cause local residents. This nuisance factor is described as "major" by the inquiry.
 

Geert Dales, the officer who pushed the project through council meetings, is singled out for blame because he was not clear enough about the risks involved. Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen does not come badly out of the report. It does, however, suggest the role of the mayor as overseer of major council decisions be reviewed.
 

Terrorist threat in the Netherlands recedes
News that the threat to the Netherlands from extremist Islamic networks appears to be receding is picked up on an inside page of today's nrc.next. It says the Dutch AIVD intelligence service believes there is less danger than in the recent past of attacks on government targets, politicians and people in the public eye.

 
This is put down to division and a lack of leadership within would-be terrorist groups. Radical Dutch Muslims are said to be turning their attention abroad. They are tending to leave the Netherlands to attend terrorist training camps or to join the fighting in Pakistan, Afghanistan or Somalia.

 
De Volkskrant gives the issue a prominent place on its front page. It says Erik Akerboom, the national anti-terrorism co-ordinator, has reduced the official level of threat from substantial to limited. International jihadist organisations are also apparently less interested in the Netherlands than they were a year ago. The capacity of the al-Qaeda terrorist network to hit Europe is also said to have weakened.
 

Adolescents cause parents headaches, it's official
The AD hopes to shock us with the news that more than 50 percent of parents find it difficult to keep their adolescent children in line and to decide what rules to enforce. One in five parents finds bringing up their kids really hard. Many may find few surprises in the results of the national review carried out for Family and Youth Minister André Rouvoet.

 
Parents appear to have most problems with computers, not being able to tell whether children are playing online or doing their homework. Deciding the rules on sex and housework also gives parents a hard time.

 
The vast majority of parents appear to trust their children to keep to the rules which are usually decided on jointly with the child. If that trust is breached, there appear to be few sanctions: 61 percent of parents admitted just talking to their kids about their behaviour, while 47 percent said they gave them a warning.

 
Mr Rouvoet thinks it's important that parents know what their children are getting up to. The more people know about things such as the internet, he argues, the easier it is to decide on what rules should apply.

Songs of yesteryear
Preferring a more upbeat look at parenting, at least that of yesteryear, De Telegraaf trumpets the Christmas charity campaign it is sponsoring together with the broadcaster, Omroep Max. It is aimed at lessening Yuletide loneliness among the elderly and was launched by Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, no less.

 
He rearranged his weekly audience with Queen Beatrix, brags the mass-circulation daily, to kick off a charity bash at Amsterdam's famous Concertgebouw. He told the retired parents packing the concert hall: "You have brought up the Netherlands. Society is given a heart when people are there for each other."

Mr Balkenende and the rest of the audience were treated to a show which included 92-year-old Annie de Reuver's rendition of that favourite song of days gone by, Just look right into my eyes.

The money raised by the campaign will go to providing Christmas dinners for the elderly at various outlets nationwide over the next few days. The paper says other good works will include the distribution of 15,000 packs of Christmas goodies.
 

CO2 bonanza in Copenhagen
On its front page today, Trouw makes the point that the climate conference in Copenhagen is responsible for CO2 emissions equal to the yearly total caused by 660,000 people in Ethiopia or 2300 residents of the United States.

It says official figures show most of the heads of state and government, ministers, officials, journalists and lobbyists made the journey to Denmark by plane. This resulted in the release of about 40,500 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.

 
Denmark has attempted to limit the emissions caused by the meeting itself. However, the provision of transport for representatives in Copenhagen, meals, computers and a host of other facilities will result in 5700 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.