‘You can sell your soul for a can of soya beans,’ announced the second most powerful man in the world to a group of largely gob-smacked doyens of the Canberra ‘swamp’ who had gathered last Sunday afternoon in the magnificent Mitchell Room of the State Library of NSW. The event, superbly hosted by former Speccie editor Tom Switzer and the Centre for Independent Studies, saw US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Aussie counterpart Marise Payne make excellent speeches followed by a rousing Q&A.