I did a bit more research on the powers of the Finnish President. It turns out that they used to be quite large -- selection of the Prime Minister, selection of candidates at several levels of the civil service, command of the military. This I read as a legacy of the charismatic leaders of the White forces in the Finnish civil war of 1917-19.

This all changed with the Constitutional reform of 2000. The President is no longer in charge of the military. She (Finland's current president is a woman) no longer appoints the PM, and cannot ask for the PM's resignation. The effect is a regression to the European norm. Westminster style, as Colby calls it.

I think it's a pity.

I've just finished reading a long New York Times article about a disabled-rights lawyer and her conversations with Peter Singer, the controversial Princeton ethicist. Link via Mark Shea, with the excellent summary:

Reminds me of Lewis' account of a pastor he knew who once saw Hitler in the flesh. Someone asked, "What did he look like?" The pastor replied, "He looked as all men do: like Jesus." What marks the woman in the story off from Singer is that she can see humanity in a monster while he cannot see humanity in a human being.