Today the Dutch papers are still firmly focused on the failed plane bombing on Christmas day and its many implications. But there's also room to consider the Iranian protests and to serve up a handful of traditional New Year's items.

 
Wave of terror imminent?
The attempted terrorist attack on Northwest Airlines flight 253 to Detroit has clearly rattled certain sections of the Dutch press. De Telegraaf leads with "Terrorist has army of successors". Now that the Christmas attack has been claimed by al-Qaeda as retaliation for a US anti-terror offensive in Yemen, the paper warns that "Yemen is seen as a breeding ground for training bombers and bomb-makers." It quotes a Scotland Yard source who says "Our biggest fear is that Abdulmutallab is only a forerunner: the first of many who are ready to kill thousands." AD takes a similar line, focusing on the bomber's claim that "new attacks are on the way".
 

De Telegraaf turns its attention to the Dutch connection: the fact that the Nigerian bomber boarded the fateful flight at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. It asks "the question on everyone's lips - from President Obama to the man in the street": how did he manage to get on board in the first place? After talking to airport security personnel, the paper comes to the disconcerting conclusion that "security workers are making a mess of checks at Schiphol".

One security agent reckons "the real problem is that commercial concerns determine our every move. They time us with stopwatches to see how quickly we can check a passenger. Schiphol has us in a stranglehold with five year contracts." While personnel are continually tested to make sure they don't let weapons through, the agent interviewed admits "the real danger lies in the new chemicals that terrorists are using, but we haven't a clue what they're called or what they look like on a scan."

 
Some of the papers take a more philosophical tone. NRC Handelsblad's editorial concludes that "Total security in an open, democratic society is an illusion." De Volkskrant points out that "the aviation sector hasn't been the primary target of terrorists for quite some time", reminding us that attacks on "cities such as Mumbai and targets in turbulent Pakistan" have claimed many more lives. And these are onslaughts that no high-tech body scanner can combat.

 
The flying Dutchman: a hero in hiding
Today's papers also present two very different sides of Jasper Schuringa, the Dutchman who became a hero by tackling the bomber and who has been a permanent fixture in the media ever since. Under the headline "Jasper saves the world and looks after himself" freesheet newspaper De Pers reports that "while the other passengers looked on dazed and bewildered" the hero of the hour was taking snapshots of the event and enlisting the services of a friendly businessman to flog them to the highest bidder. The paper calculates that he's already netted a tidy 18,000 dollars, with more to come once he hits the Dutch media circuit on his return.
 

But AD paints a different picture, reporting that an exhausted Jasper has "gone into hiding in America". The paper speaks to his parents and friends, who say the frenzy of media attention has worn him out: "Only now is it starting to sink in exactly what he's been through. After all, he put his life on the line."

 
Unrest or revolution in Iran?
The latest wave of protests in Iran receives quite a bit of coverage in the Dutch press today. NRC Handelsblad sees a shift in the mood of the demonstrations, stating that "protestors in Iran are no longer afraid of the state" and observing that "the violence is escalating on both sides". De Volkskrant notes that "this is not a new revolution" pointing out the disparate nature of the anti-establishment movement, made up of different groups "all of whom are looking at developments from completely different viewpoints". Yet it goes on to comment: "It can certainly be described as a series of events whose consequences cannot be foreseen".

 
De Volkskrant puts the demonstrations in a wider context of resistance against the regime, from Internet communication to graffiti and symbols printed on banknotes. It concludes that the powers that be are now faced with an impossible dilemma, since using force to crack down on civilian protestors only serves to legitimise the protests. "If the authorities let resistance go, they risk their own downfall. But by suppressing it violently, they risk the very same thing."

 
TV tops and flops in the Netherlands
They say you can tell a lot about a country by what it watches on television. So what does AD's review of the TV highs and lows of 2009 reveal about the Netherlands? In these uncertain times of economic crisis and globalisation, the Dutch seem to be hell bent on keeping their light entertainment as light as possible. A dating show for Dutch farmers continues to be the ratings hit of the century so far, followed by flag-waving celebrity panel quiz "I love Holland" and a Dutch-Flemish co-production to find a new singer for K3, a Belgian girl group whose target audience are barely out of nappies. One success that bucked the frivolous trend was a nine-part documentary that re-evaluated the Dutch experience of World War II with footage and diary extracts never before seen on television.

The secret of TV success in the Netherlands would seem not to be trotting out a Dutch version of a popular format elsewhere. This year's flops include Dutch attempts to ape the spandex-clad Japanese silliness of Hole in the Wall, an all-woman discussion programme based on US hit The View, and the latest in a seemingly endless stream of talent shows Looking for Elvis. Could their dismal viewing figures see Dutch TV producers going in search of original ideas in 2010? We can but hope...
 

Breaking in the New Year
With New Year almost upon us, De Telegraaf has some sage advice to see us safely through into the next decade without incident or embarrassment. It warns that "burglars just can't wait till the New Year's celebrations begin", as figures issued by Amsterdam police show a spectacular rise in domestic break-ins while people are out bringing in the New Year in style. The report does rather suggest that the New Year revellers are asking for it, often leaving their front door unlocked while they pop next door for a quick glass of bubbly or step outside to watch the traditional New Year's fireworks. "Some even leave a note on the door to tell all-comers that they're round at the neighbours", sighs one concerned constable.

 
Having made it safely through the festivities, there are the social niceties to consider. Beneath the headline "A handshake will do, thank you", De Telegraaf reveals that the Dutch are less enthusiastic than they used to be about puckering up to wish each other Happy New Year at work. A solid 47 percent would rather have a handshake from a colleague, while only 22 percent favour the traditional three pecks on the cheek. At the grumpy end of the spectrum, 11 percent don't want to be wished happy new year at all but mercifully this is compensated to some extent by the 8 percent who are even up for a celebratory hug. Now all we have to do is work out who belongs to which category ...