When leaving the centre and walking across the pedestrian crossing, I just dodged a crash with someone on a bike whizzing past at speed.

I am not too sure how I will get on when electric scooters are allowed on footpaths.

Modern bikes and scooters are generally silent and are not equipped with bells. The only warning you get is a shout of "get out of my way!" because the bike and scooter riders seem to think that pedestrians walking on a footpath are a hazard to them (and preferably should be forbidden?).

Using designated shared pathways is a different matter - you know to be constantly on the alert for all the other users.

I would just like a comfortable stroll along a suburban footpath, if your suburb is fortunate enough to have such an amenity.

Reading Crispin Hull's article on the perilous state of today's United States ("Witnessing the fall of the greatest power", July 11, p25), I was put in mind of President's Trump's election promise to "make America great again", a slogan that will undoubtedly resurface in the coming election campaign. A worthy objective, but President Trump was short on detail as to how he intended to accomplish it.

Does he have in mind measures to encourage the arts and sciences so that the United States might produce a modern Shakespeare, or another Darwin? Or to make provision for improved social welfare and public health? He cannot mean added military strength as the United States already has the capacity to destroy life on Earth with a small fraction of its present arsenal.

Could it be that President Trump is a covert socialist, with the ambition to rival the greatest US president of all, Franklin Delano Roosevelt?

Michael Turtle's recent article ("Deeply personal Jervis Bay jaunt", July 12, p32) in which he describes seeing whales in Jervis Bay reminded me of experiences I had in the area over three years around 2012. On each occasion, I was leading a walk in the Booderee National Park for the Canberra Bushwalking Club of which I am a life member.

We had walked from the car park to Steamers Beach, and out along St Georges Peninsula, before heading to Kitty's Beach, on the western side of the peninsula, and the look out over Wreck Bay for lunch.

I was lying on my back, pack under my head for a pillow, and hat over my face, dozing before we headed off back to the cars when someone said to me "Stan, there are whales in the bay". I grunted, thinking that they would be a kilometre out but several in the group persisted. So I got up and looked. There was a pod of half a dozen or so whales no more than 50 metres or 60 metres out, just lolling around, apparently playing.

We always went there on the Sunday of the Queen's Birthday long weekend and, for three years running, had the same experience. Same whales? We will never know.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr's recent statement against Geocon's proposed eight-storey development at Kingston is a welcome development. May there be similar revelations along the Damascene road to the forthcoming elections.

Meanwhile, the other recent revelation that Purdon Planning, acting on behalf of Geocon, had declined to participate in this week's Kingston Barton Residents' Group meeting is no great surprise. It simply reflects, as we saw last year with the fumbling explanations of the Kingston apartments (aka arts) precinct, the total inability of the developer to explain the unexplainable.

Andrew Barr is a hypocrite extraordinaire for criticising a proposed Geocon development in Kingston when he and the Minister for Planning and Land Development, Mick Gentleman, have allowed over many years a plethora of ugly, unacceptable developments across the ACT by inappropriately using the call-in powers.

The upcoming ACT Legislative Assembly election in October 2020 would no doubt have everything to do with his actions. Too little, too late Chief Minister.

It's time for you and your ministry to be unceremoniously turfed out in October.

Paul Fitzwarryne (Letters, July 9) raises questions as to the suitability of keeping the name Canberra Raiders for Canberra's NRL team and thus, by inference, commemorating the evil deeds done by the Vikings who raped and pillaged their way through England and central Europe 1300 years ago and traded in slaves with southern communities.

I hope the wonderful English players the Raiders have recruited do not feel enslaved.

However, Paul certainly causes one to pause and think of the origins of the Viking Clap.

David Roth (Letters, July 12) wonders what evidence Kym MacMillan (Letters, July 9) has that a great majority of Australians support the proposed AWM makeover. A good question.

Perhaps MacMillan is very trusting of the AWM's extraordinary statements that 80 per cent of Australians are in favour of the plans, despite just about everything pointing in the other direction.

Finally, on July 7, the memorial shed some light on the origin of that figure, in their documentation for heritage (EPBC) approval.

One of the "consultation" tools used by the memorial was an online survey of 514 Australians, conducted in February this year.

A strong majority of the respondents knew nothing about the redevelopment plans, so their responses were necessarily based completely on what the AWM told them in the survey information.

Respondents were told "The time has come to modernise and expand the Australian War Memorial's galleries and buildings so it can tell the continuing story of Australia's involvement in modern conflicts", and they were shown some images. There was nothing about the cost, nothing about the huge controversy surrounding the proposal, none of the many arguments against it, nothing about other ways to achieve the stated goals, and nothing about the plans to politicise the memorial with live ADF feed. It was a total and disgraceful sham.

The time-honoured way to get the result you want - just present biased information and hide all the unwanted facts.

As we all begin to realise the central role surgical masks will play in our near and possibly distant futures, we need to brighten the landscape by seeing the mask as a new, and welcome, art form.

In line with this thinking, I am proposing that a local gallery such as CMAG undertake a collection and exhibition of masks made by individual and home-based needle-workers.

Patterns are available on the web and some can be sewn by hand. A small monetary prize could be offered for the mask judged to be the most effective and another for the most outstanding art work.

Well said, Penny Costello (Letters, July 11) in acknowledging the intent, efforts and actions of our leaders at all levels.

At a time of physical, psychological, and economic uncertainty and distress, it is easy to recriminate and criticise the convenient targets.

Difficult, unpopular, and logistically challenging decisions are being made. Our leaders are seemingly "damned if they do and damned if they don't".

But those decisions need to be made. So, whilst it may be anathema to many, let's publicly support our leaders while continuing to do the right thing. That way we can all get through this and return to some form of normal in the not too distant future.

Like Bruce Wright (Letters, July 10) I too have had disappointing experiences trying to contact Access Canberra by phone.

Recently, I needed to discuss a matter and, because it was rather complex and urgent, I went to a shopfront. Unfortunately, there was a sign saying something along the lines of "go away unless you have already called us". So, dutifully, I went home and rang Access Canberra. After being put on hold for nearly 20 minutes I was told I would receive a call back. Several weeks later I'm still waiting for that call. Presumably, there is some sort of black hole somewhere into which promised call-backs go.

Fortunately, I was able to resolve the matter by returning to said shopfront.

My heartfelt thanks to the lady who found my credit card at the side of the road in Gatton Street last week. Somehow she worked out, or guessed, that I live in Goodwin Village, and handed it in to reception without leaving her name. Dear Angel, whoever you are, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kindness.

Letter writers (July 10) have argued voting for the Labor candidate in Eden-Monaro was a bad idea because, not being in government, she won't be able to do anything for the electorate. To suggest everyone should always vote for the candidates of the ruling party is up there with the dumbest ideas of all time.

Trump won't wear a mask and thinks if he does he'd look like the Lone Ranger. Go figure. I thought Ronald Reagan was a third-rate cowboy but this bloke? How about a clown mask. He could wear it in hospitals and entertain the patients.

The Australian government is issuing a China travel warning on the basis of a "danger of arbitrary arrest on vaguely defined national security grounds"? Is that the same as the warning that should be issued to journalists and other citizens who think Australian government and agencies' criminal activities should be exposed?

I had two letters delivered on Friday from different Sydney suburbs. One took seven days from posting and the other six days. Penny mail was much quicker 100 years ago when mail trains left Central station every night to regional NSW.

Why are US Marines exempt from the ban on international travellers, especially when they are bringing COVID-19 to Darwin? They apparently come via Okinawa which The Washington Post reports has 61 cases amongst the Marines there. We shouldn't have them here in any event, and they present a real risk to the people of Darwin.

John Davenport (Letters, July 12) draws a long bow in intimating Scott Morrison is facilitating the move for people from Hong Kong to Australia because they are more likely to vote LNP. It was Bob Hawke who offered many thousands of Chinese students in Australia places here following the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.

Those refusing testing for the coronavirus could heed this: "You will listen and listen again, but not understand, see and see again, but not perceive.... the heart of this nation has grown coarse, their ears are dull... and they have shut their eyes, for fear they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart".

Who is greater? USA or China? The answer is very clear, all we need to check is how both countries and leaders dealt with COVID-19 pandemic and the results so far.

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