What is it about The Taming of the Shrew that excites such contradictory reactions? It is widely regarded as a deeply problematic play, yet it is very popular. It is what they called in Shakespeare's day a "get penny": a sure-fire box office earner. Indeed, according to a recent Royal Shakespeare Company survey of the past 16 years in Stratford, The Taming of the Shrew is the second most popular play in the canon, even though it hasn't been produced on the main stage in eight years.

The trouble centres on Katherine's final speech, in which she outlines the role of the wife in relation to her husband. Germaine Greer famously argued in The Female Eunuch that Kate's speech is "the greatest defence of Christian monogamy ever written". On the other hand, as far back as 1897, George Bernard Shaw described the last scene as "altogether disgusting to modern sentiments", and requiring some apology.

I had assumed the play expressed sentiments that were commonly held in Shakespeare's day, and that it was only in recent times that people have begun to question its sexual politics. But then I came across a play by one of Shakespeare's contemporaries that changed my mind.

The first Shakespeare I was asked to direct for the RSC was All Is True (at the Swan in 1996), a play about Henry VIII, on which he collaborated with John Fletcher. Sitting in on rehearsals was a Fletcher expert, Gordon McMullan, and I challenged him to come up with any plays by Shakespeare's collaborator that were any good. He gave me two: The Island Princess and A Woman's Prize. The first I directed last year as part of the Jacobean season, which has just completed its West End run. The second took my breath away.

For its current production of A Woman's Prize, the RSC has gone with the play's much better subtitle: The Tamer Tamed. It is a sequel (some might call it an "antidote") to The Taming of the Shrew, in which Petruchio is married for a second time and is tamed by his second wife, Maria. Katherine has died (of what, we never learn) and her sister Bianca turns up at the wedding to warn Petruchio's gentle new bride that she must put her foot down now, or "never look for quiet hour more". What follows is a very funny play in which Maria twists the befuddled Petruchio around her little finger. It ends with an epilogue that sets out the play's purpose: "To teach both sexes due equality/And as they stand bound to love mutually." Which was pretty radical for the time.

Fletcher wrote The Tamer Tamed in 1611, less than 20 years after Shakespeare's original. Clearly Shrew was still in the repertoire of the King's Men, and was popular and familiar enough for audiences to enjoy the cross-references. But why did he write it? Shakespeare was perfectly capable of writing his own sequels. He wrote two for Falstaff. Perhaps Fletcher felt that Shrew needed updating, or answering, even then.

The role of women in society was certainly changing. You need only read the huge number of pamphlets and broadsheets railing at the way women were asserting themselves to grasp the intensity of the debate. It reached its climax in Joseph Swetnam's fiercely misogynistic 1615 diatribe, The Arraignment of Lewd, Idle, Froward and Inconstant Women. The very title reveals its essential male paranoia.

What did Shakespeare think of The Tamer Tamed? We don't know for sure, but I think he must have approved, for within a year or so he came out of his virtual retirement in Stratford-upon-Avon, returned to London and collaborated with Fletcher on three plays: The Two Noble Kinsmen, All Is True, and Cardenio which has since been lost.

This season I am directing Shrew and Tamer for the RSC at Stratford. As far as we know, it is the first time the two plays have been brought together in full productions since they were presented for Charles I and Henrietta Maria in 1633. So why, people ask me suspiciously, has the play been so neglected until now? Is it perhaps not worth reviving?

Only public and critical reaction will tell. But the reason for the neglect of Fletcher and his fellow playwrights is more complicated. There are roughly 600 scripts available, which were written during Shakespeare's lifetime; of those we are familiar with only a fraction. They are not all worth doing. But many are. The way Shakespeare dominates the repertoire is part of the reason for their neglect.

Take Fletcher. The very fact that he collaborated with Shakespeare has, I would argue, tarnished his reputation rather than enhanced it. Far from recommending him to our attention, it alerts us to his inferiority, when his talent is set beside the titanic genius of the man described as "not of an age but for all time".

The way Shakespeare has pushed all others aside is aptly demonstrated to me when I go in search of Fletcher's grave one morning after rehearsals. He is buried in Southwark Cathedral, a few steps from where the Globe once stood; Fletcher, like half the actors listed at the front of the First Folio, was a member of this parish.

Inside the church there is, of course, a monument to Shakespeare (his body rests in Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon). It is a rather silly Edwardian affair portraying the bard reclining uncomfortably in a Bankside meadow. Above it is a stained-glass window showing characters from his plays, which was unveiled in 1954. Apparently, all the windows in the south aisle used to depict Shakespeare and his contemporaries, but a bomb that fell in Borough Market blew them all out in 1940 and only Shakespeare made it back. It is a telling physical manifestation of how his genius has overshadowed the reputation and talent of the other playwrights of his day.

There is no mention of Fletcher's tomb in the cathedral's welcoming pamphlet, but the guide points me towards the chancel: "I think you'll find him in front of the choir stalls with that other dramatist fellow." I suppose she means Francis Beaumont, with whom Fletcher wrote some dozen plays and with whom he is most often associated. The foreword to their collected works, published in 1647, records: "Since they were never parted while they lived, I conceive it not equitable to separate their ashes." This indissoluble couple, we are told, shared not only a house in Bankside, the same cloak and clothes, but a bed - and not, I think, in the Eric and Ernie sense. So I am surprised to discover that "the other dramatist fellow" buried in Fletcher's tomb is not Beaumont but Philip Massinger, author of The Roman Actor.

When Fletcher died of the plague in 1625, Massinger succeeded him as chief dramatist of the King's Men. And when Massinger died, he had himself buried in his friend's tomb, even though he was not a member of the parish. A poem written at the time, and allegedly intended for an epitaph, reads: "So whom on earth, nothing did part, beneath/Here in their fames, they lie in spite of death." Perhaps "never parted" was the Jacobean equivalent of the old obituary cliche "never married".

But perhaps I am falsely appropriating Fletcher. Perhaps I see in his perspective on male- female relationships and bully-boy chauvinism in The Tamer Tamed, for example, an outsider's objectivity, which I assign to his sexuality because I am myself gay. Perhaps I want to counter what Katherine Duncan-Jones, writing about Shakespeare's sonnets, describes as a "determination to heterosexualise". I wonder: if I do claim Fletcher's place among the pantheon of writers who share my sexuality, will it alter the audience's perception of his work one jot?

I leave Fletcher's tomb with a sense of having come closer to the playwright. But when I arrive home, a parcel is waiting for me. It is a mid-Victorian edition of Massinger's plays, which I have ordered, over the internet, from somewhere in Ohio. (The other reason these plays aren't produced very often is their unavailability.) In the introduction I discover that in the 1830s the Southwark church had become so damp and derelict that there was a vote to demolish it, a vote that was ultimately reversed. Repairs were begun, during which the floor was levelled. Apparently, the dust of Fletcher and Massinger was removed when 3ft of surface earth was shifted from the church, and their remains now lie under the kitchen floor of a house in Doddington Grove, Kennington.

In the end, as Jonson said of Shakespeare, Fletcher's monument must be his work. He lives on in the performance of his plays - plays that are certainly worth reviving.

· The Tamer Tamed is in rep at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon, until November 3. The Taming of the Shrew is in rep at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon, until November 8. Box office: 0870 609 1110.

Summary: Even the Jacobeans had a problem with The Taming of the Shrew. So one of them wrote a fiery sequel - in which the women bite back. Gregory Doran on John Fletcher.


FORTUNE — Last week I wrote a piece for Fortune.com titled “Collateralized loan obligations: Our next financial nightmare,” which was met with a wave of criticism from certain parts of the banking industry. Of all the shattered vehicles of structured finance, collateralized loan obligations, or CLOs, managed to do something somewhat unique in the realm of finance — regain investor trust. I argued that they have grown so big so fast that the CLO market poses a significant risk to the financial industry in the event of a sudden reversal in the corporate debt markets.

Standard and Poor’s in particular took issue with my argument. Steve Miller, of S&P Capital IQ’s Leveraged Commentary & Data, published a response on Forbes.com entitled “Leveraged loans: Fortune’s CLO Criticism — The Numbers Tell a Different Story.” In it, he cites “several factual errors in the story.” In fact I did make one small technical error, which is now corrected and noted in the piece, but otherwise it appears that my differences with S&P are differences of opinion, not factual errors. (S&P LCD is a subsidiary of Standard and Poor’s, one of the ratings agencies assigning AAA ratings to these financial products.)

For a quick refresher, a CLO is a type of debt security in which high-risk commercial loans are bundled together and sliced into pieces for sale to investors. The point of this “bundle and chop” is to disperse risk. Investors looking to dial up the risk (and the potential reward) can take the riskier part of the CLO while others, like insurance companies and pension funds, can take the less risky parts. By spreading out this risk, companies that couldn’t otherwise get financing because of bad credit now stand a better chance of getting a loan.

I had argued that the CLO market today poses some of the same risks as the collateralized debt obligation (CDO) market did before the housing crisis. The crux of S&P LCD’s argument is that the good stuff in these CLOs rarely, if ever, fails:

“According to S&P Ratings, the cumulative default rate on U.S. CDO obligations originally rated AAA (since 1996) is 14%; those include deals that bundled sub-prime mortgage backed securities. The comparable measure for U.S. cash-flow CLO liabilities originally rated AAA, by contrast, is zero … Thus, the Fortune piece — by comparing CLO default rates with those of CDOs — is, in effect, calling an ant hill a lesser peak than Mount Everest.”

But the ratings agencies made the same claims about the CDO market before it imploded in 2007. Those numbers also told a different story than anyone sounding alarms was telling: Mortgage-based structured credit vehicles also “rarely, if ever,” went sour. Housing prices always went up, and people rarely walked away from their houses, or so the argument went. And we all remember what happened next.

MORE: Americans have fallen in love with real estate once again

So, is the CLO market going to blow up tomorrow? Probably not. But the CLO market is no different than any other market — if it gets too hot it will eventually overheat. That’s not to say that CLOs are inherently bad, but when you are dealing with leveraged loans, the result may not be as pretty or as predictable as you may want to believe.

Today, leveraged loans and junk bonds are taking on the role that housing played during the credit crisis. Increased demand for yield has translated to a lowering of basis risk to such a degree that junk bonds and leveraged loans are being issued at a remarkably low 5% yield. Some of those loans are ending up in CLOs and sold to investors who want a little more yield but are hamstrung by investing mandates to buy only triple-A rated securities. A whopping $83 billion worth of CLOs were issued in 2013, up from the $3 billion issued in 2009.

We seem to be at a crossroads in the latest credit cycle where the chances of such a blowup may not be too far off. Triple-A rated CLO tranches could very well keep their nearly perfect AAA batting average, but it is just as likely that things could take a turn for the worse — and fast. That’s because, regardless of how a CLO is structured or whether it is actively managed, if the quality of the underlying asset is bad, the game is over.

There are signs of a reversal in the market already. An analysis conducted by Moody’s found that credit quality in new U.S. CLO transactions has “deteriorated” since April 2012 due to an increase in the proportion of B3 rated loans. B3 is six notches below junk, making it super-subprime. Banks are not only structuring riskier CLOs, but they are also holding on to fewer of those securities. Banks now make up just 42% of the buyers of new triple-A CLO tranches, down from 90% last year.

MORE: Big banks lend to corporations over consumers

I went back to S&P LCD for more clarity around their argument that this market poses no resemblance to the CDO market that nearly crippled the U.S. financial system. “Your central point is right, credit cycles typically move from low default rates, high fear, high risk-return, to a point where deals get excessive,” Miller told me. “Then, when a recession hits, some over-levered issuers are forced into bankruptcy, bringing on a default spike — that’s time-honored tradition.”

Miller believes that we are probably in the middle of the credit cycle at this point and that it’s premature to be sounding the alarm. One of the ways S&P LCD gauges market exuberance is to analyze the leverage ratio of the deals getting done. The leverage ratio shows how much debt is being piled on to the company to take them private. The larger the debt load, the greater the chances of default. So far, Miller says, it hasn’t reached worrisome levels, but he admits we may eventually get there.

So perhaps Miller and I agree on the fact that the risk exists, but disagree on the approach the financial industry should take to mitigating that risk today. How bad it will get is pretty much anyone’s guess. But to dismiss these clues would be similar to burying one’s head in the sand.

Summary: Collateralized loan obligations are not inherently bad investments. But demand for yield has led to a reduction in the quality of loans behind them, and the result may be rather ugly.


THE AFFAIR 10 p.m., SHOWTIME

We are taken with this new series showing the different points of view of an adulterous affair. All four stars — Dominic West, Ruth Wilson, Maura Tierney, and Joshua Jackson — are shining bright. In this installment, West’s Noah asks Wilson’s Alison for help with his latest novel.

MR. DYNAMITE: THE RISE OF JAMES BROWN 9 p.m., HBO

The hardest-working man in show business gets the documentary treatment in this new film co-produced by Mick Jagger. The film covers Brown's ascent to stardom and includes interviews with band members, television appearances, and never-seen-before concert footage from the late soul man.

FRONTLINE: THE RISE OF ISIS 10 p.m., CHANNEL 2

For those seeking a primer, the award-winning investigative series provides in-depth interviews with Iraqi politicians, American policymakers, and military leaders, including General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to explore and explain how ISIS developed.

RIVAL SURVIVAL 10 p.m., DISCOVERY

Can US Senators Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) reach across the aisle and help each other last six days and nights on a deserted island? That’s the gimmick behind this new special, which strands the politicians on Eru in the Marshall Islands surrounded by sharks and poisonous fish. So, pretty much like their day jobs with fewer snazzy suits.

IT’S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN 8 p.m., ABC

The annual Halloween special returns with all its tricks and treats including Linus Van Pelt’s heartfelt note to the mythical Great Pumpkin, Snoopy’s battle with the Red Baron, and Charlie Brown’s immortal lament, “I got a rock.”

FOO FIGHTERS: SONIC HIGHWAYS 11 p.m. HBO

The rock band chronicled the making of its forthcoming album with this captivating series of the same name, which offers a little backstory on each city and studio in which the Foos recorded. (Alas, Boston did not make the cut.) After productive trips to Chicago and Washington, D.C., the caravan heads to the next stop on the itinerary, which we’re guessing will be Nashville since the Zac Brown Band collaboration comes next on the album’s track listing.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE 11:30 p.m., NBC

Former cast member Chris Rock returns to Studio 8H to promote his new film, “Top Five,” and hopefully he’s bringing “Nat X” with him. Prince performs music from his pair of recent albums. SARAH RODMAN

Summary: A look at the upcoming week on TV,  including “The Affair” on Showtime and “Saturday Night Live” on NBC.


Some of the nation’s most powerful men have belonged to fraternities during their school days – business leaders included. For the women, female politicians-in-the-making are no strangers to sororities, although it appears that just two of 26 female CEOs in the Fortune 500 joined the organizations in college.

But from Warren Buffett to Douglas Oberhelman, numerous male CEOs in the top 50 companies of Fortune’s elite group of businesses gained leadership skills in fraternities back before achieving business greatness. Here are a few of those stories.

The North-American Interfraternity Conference helped provide information for this article.

Summary: Some of the most powerful leaders in the business world pledged in fraternities. Here are a few of them.


Balinese police have staged an elaborate re-enactment of the murder of Australian businessman Robert Ellis, requiring the six suspects – including his Indonesian wife – to act out their alleged roles in the brutal killing.

Noor Ellis is accused of hiring five men to kill her husband of 25 years in October and now faces the death penalty.

She has denied the allegations.

The six the suspects, including Mrs Ellis, two housemaids and the men alleged to have carried out the murder, were forced to carry out the re-enactment behind closed doors at the Bali Emmeral Villas where the 60-year-old businessman was killed.

The six alleged offenders in the hut where police allege they hatched the murder plot. (9NEWS)

The group wore orange prison jumpsuits and cardboard signs stating their names during the re-enactment.

Police officers stood in for two other men who remain at large.

The staged event saw Mrs Ellis meet with the group in a hut about a kilometre from the villa, where police allege she agreed upon a price to kill her husband.

Local police have alleged her and the killers settled on 150 million Indonesian Rupiah ($A14,000) during the meeting, urging the men to “kill him – but not in a sadistic way”.

Footage taken during the event shows the group leaving the hut, while Mrs Ellis gets into a waiting car.

One of the alleged plotters Adrianus Ngongo alias "Aril". All of the group wore orange jumpsuits and signs stating their name during the re-enactment. (9NEWS)

Before driving off, she leans out the window and hands 23-year-old Adrianus Ngongo a brown paper envelope.

Police allege "Aril" took the 150 million Indonesian Rupiah ($A14,000) from Mrs Ellis after the murder. (9NEWS)

Police allege the men known as Urbanus and Yohannes were the pair that actually slit Mrs Ellis’ throat. The pair were captured following a two-hour pursuit through Bali’ forests earlier this month that allegedly involved poisoned arrows and machetes.

Ellis was a well-known businessman in Indonesia and ran a telecommunications business in Jakarta. His body was found bound and wrapped in plastic in a rice paddy ditch on October 21.

Australian businessman Robert Ellis, who was killed in Bali, with wife Noor. (AAP)

His throat had been slit.

He and Mrs Ellis had two sons, aged 23 and 19, who both live and stuyd in Perth.

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A traveller has been caught by authorities trying to smuggle iPhones in China. (Supplied)

A man has attempted to smuggle almost 100 iPhones into China by strapping them to his body.

The smuggler was nabbed by security at Fution Port on the Chinese border with Hong Kong, Chinese news site Sina reports.

Port officials became suspicious of the man due to his "weird walking posture, joint stiffness (and) muscle tension," according to the report.

However it wasn't until the man had set off the security's metal detector after passing through a bag search that security investigated further.

After further examination, security found 94 of the Apple devices taped around the smuggler's torso and legs like metal body armour.

It is understood the types of phones strapped to his body included iPhone 6s, iPhone 5s and iPhone 5cs.

Fution Port in China connects Hong Kong with the rest of mainland China.

News of the smuggling comes in the same month three Chinese men were arrested for tunnelling their way into a warehouse and stealing hundreds of iPhones worth more than $280,000.

Police allege the men dug a 50-cm hole into the wall of the storage facility in the lead up to Christmas, on around December 12 last year.

They are accused of stealing 240 of Apple's iPhone 6 phones from a Beijing warehouse, Chinese news agency Xinhua News reported.

Police arrested the suspects in late December after tracking the serial numbers of the phones.

Apple's smartphones are considered highly popular in China, with reports the country had around 10 million requests for the iPhone 6.

Apple's latest smartphone was launched in September last year and has been dubbed by a number of Chinese citizens as the "Kidney 6".

The name stems from a 2012 incident where a 17-year-old high school student sold one of his kidneys to buy an iPhone.

Last month, Apple was forced to comment on allegations it forces its Chinese workers on its iPhone and iPad assembly lines to work exhaustive overtime shifts. Apple employs around 1,400 manufacturing workers in China.

Do you have any news photos or videos?

Summary: A hapless thief has been caught attempting to smuggle almost 100 iPhones into China by strapping them to his body.


Photo: Tony Avelar / Associated Press

Former 49ers defensive lineman Ray McDonald to sign with Bears

Former 49ers defensive tackle Ray McDonald has a new home … with his old coach.

McDonald, 30, will sign with Chicago, where he will reunite with Vic Fangio, his defensive coordinator for three-plus seasons with the 49ers, a source said. Fangio, who was a candidate for the 49ers’ head-coaching job that went to Jim Tomsula, is the Bears’ defensive coordinator. Former 49ers secondary coach Ed Donatell also is on Chicago’s staff.

McDonald was released by the 49ers in December following his second high-profile legal issue in less than four months. No charges were filed against him after he was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence Aug. 31. On Dec. 16, a woman told police she was “possibly sexually assaulted” by McDonald at his home in San Jose.

A Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office spokesman said Tuesday the case is still being reviewed, but McDonald’s agent, Tom Condon, said last week that he was confident his client would be exonerated. McDonald has filed a defamation lawsuit against his accuser. Condon said McDonald has met with the NFL as part of the league’s investigation.

“I would anticipate that they don’t find anything,” Condon said. “As Ray has said publicly, he’s got video evidence of consensual sex over a two-day period of time.”

Condon said he anticipated McDonald having a contract heavy on playing-time incentives if he signed before he was cleared of charges.

The 49ers released McDonald, who also was arrested for DUI in 2010, based on his “pattern of poor decision making,” general manager Trent Baalke said.

McDonald is one of nine players who played at least 300 snaps for the 49ers last year who is no longer with the team. That group combined to start 98 games last year and has earned 15 Pro Bowl berths.

Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: ebranch@sfchronicle.com

Summary: Former 49ers defensive lineman Ray McDonald to sign with Bears  Former 49ers defensive tackle Ray McDonald has a new home … with his old coach.  McDonald, 30, will sign with Chicago, where he will reunite with Vic Fangio, his defensive coordinator for three-plus seasons with the 49ers, a source said.  Fangio, who was a candidate for the 49ers’ head-coaching job that went to Jim Tomsula,  is the Bears’ defensive coordinator.  No charges were filed against him after he was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence Aug. 31.


updated 03/24/2015 AT 12:10 AM EDT

•originally published 03/23/2015 AT 02:30 PM EDT

In a sneak peek at season 3 of

, Sarah is told that she's a "legend" and "made of the good stuff" by the unhinged Project Castor Rudy (aka "Scarface").

"And you're a myth," Sarah (

The brief scene – which contains some

language, by the way – perfectly sets up the push-and-pull between the clones of Project Leda (all played by Maslany) and the ones from Project Castor (all played by Ari Millen) that will be a primary focus of the third season.

Unlike the ladies (and man) of Leda, who had no idea they were clones until they discovered each other, the Castor clones "were raised like a little wolf pack in a military-type setting," co-creator Graeme Manson

. "They're self-aware and aware of each other and aware that they're multiples and different and special and that they have their own purpose."

Whatever that purpose might be, it doesn't seem like a positive one – as Sarah is dragged out of Rudy's cell, the clone warns Sarah to "count your sisters."

's third season premieres April 18 at 9 p.m. ET on BBC America.

Summary: "Count your sisters," a Project Castor clone warns Sarah


premiered on HBO Sunday night, and many of those who appear in it continue to make their voices heard.

"I'm standing up for what is right," Sara Goldberg, a member of the Church of Scientology for more than 35 years, tells PEOPLE of her decision to speak out in the documentary. "[The church] has a website where they have a picture of me with a target on my face, like a bull's eye. But there are certain things you just can't be afraid of, or they've won."

, PEOPLE asked Goldberg and others who participated in the documentary to talk about why they went public – and how their lives were affected. PEOPLE also reached out to the Church of Scientology leadership, which has repeatedly maintained that

are false. Scientology has posted detailed responses to Goldberg and other ex-members featured in

, accusing them of dishonesty and misconduct.

Goldberg says her lack of "fear" in dealing with the church is fueled by her desire to reunite her family.

The mother of two says she joined Scientology in 1976 and rose up the ranks within the church before she was forced to leave it in 2013 because she refused to "disconnect" from her son Nick, whom she says had already been excommunicated by church leadership.

Sara Goldberg and son Nick Lister.

"I knew I could lose my daughter, my job, my financial means, all my friends," Goldberg says of having to choose between her son and her religion. "It was scary. It was so very scary."

And Goldberg says her fears came true, including losing her daughter Ashley.

"I told Ashley, 'I'm not going to disconnect from either of my children. I'm not going to choose,' " Goldberg says of her daughter, whom Goldberg says broke off all contact with her at the church's urging. "And Ashley said, 'Mom, I hate disconnection but this is what I have to do.' I haven't heard from her since then, aside from an email asking me to stop reaching out to her."

Scientology denies Goldberg's claims and

that features her daughter Ashley telling her side of the story. "I'm disgusted that she is using myself and my daughter to elicit sympathy," Ashley says in the video.

Deciding to go against what Goldberg calls "The Church of Fear" has not been easy for those who participated in

's documentary, which is based on a book by Pulitzer Prize-winner Lawrence Wright.

"There was a tremendous amount of fear. And that caught me off guard. I didnât realize people would be so frightened. I know to some extent I put them in jeopardy because I talked to them," says Wright, who also says that the church has made numerous threats of legal action because of his book. "But I've faced nothing like what the people who have spoken to me have endured."

One of those, Wright says, is Marty Rathbun, a senior executive within the church leadership before he left the religion in 2004.

Rathbun claims he has been harassed by people working for the church and says his wife has obtained an injunction against them.

"They went after my wife even though she was never involved in Scientology. They went after her relentlessly," Rathbun tells PEOPLE. "Now we have a 16-month-old child, and going after my wife and child created a level of irritation that is intolerable."

Representatives for the Church of Scientology have firmly denied Rathbun and his wife's claims, as well as those of Tom Devocht, another former high-ranking member of the church leadership who speaks out in the documentary.

"The Church has already documented their false statements in white papers and videos on our website, providing the truth on these individuals and their lies based on either their own documented actions or what those close to them had to say," the church says of the statements specifically made by Goldberg, Rathbun and Devocht in

"It's about putting the public on notice about the potential end product of getting involved in this group," Rathbun says of why he participated in Wright's book and Gibney's film. "I've said for years that the more people who stand up against Scientology, the sooner they'll run out of resources."

Rathbun's sentiments are echoed by Devocht.

"I joined when I was just 12 years old. I didn't have a helluva lot of choice," says Devocht. "But this film opens the door to even more truths and more information coming out. That is going to be effective in protecting more people from it."

, Gibney claims he offered the Church of Scientology the opportunity to respond to allegations made in the documentary, but the church maintains that the director "ran from any facts that got in the way of his preconceived story line and ignored all our efforts to communicate."

"We have compiled the unvarnished truth in the form of video footage, court documents, publicly available records and testimonials by pertinent individuals and parishioners worldwide who do represent Scientology, and who were intentionally ignored by Mr. Gibney and HBO. All of it 100% accurate," the Church of Scientology continues in a statement released to PEOPLE.

"They want to instill fear," Goldberg says of the website the church created containing information about her. "They're trying to discredit us but they are also subliminally telling the members of the church, 'This will happen to you if you dare speak out against us.' "

"I donât think this is going to do anything to change the leopard's spots," Rathbun says when asked if he thinks the church will change from within after

But those who have been vocal in their criticism of Scientology have hopes that the film will move the IRS to re-examine the church's tax-exempt status.

"Scientology is given so many rights because they are recognized as a religion," says Jenna Miscavige Hill, who is the niece of church leader David Miscavige and authored

after leaving Scientology in 2013. "Essentially the people who give out religious recognition are the IRS by awarding tax exemption."

"Even if something seems good at first, if an organization is telling you that you can't look at certain information or is keeping you away from your family, then it's time to reevaluate," Miscavige Hill says. "Maybe that's exactly what you should be doing."

Scientology, meanwhile, says the documentary's criticism is "insidious religious persecution" and calls Wright's book and Gibney's film "both transparent vehicles for their vendettas against all religion and people of faith."

Former members like Goldberg ultimately just want to spare others the pain that they say they have experienced.

"I need to keep shining the light on these abuses," says Goldberg. "As far as the religion goes, I don't care what people believe, but it is not right when you are ruining and destroying lives and tearing apart families. It is just not right."

Summary: Sara Goldberg and other ex-Scientologists speak out in the wake of the HBO documentary Going Clear


04/01/2015 AT 01:30 AM EDT

Gary Dahl, the man who became a millionaire by selling ordinary rocks, died on March 23 at the age of 78.

Dahl, an advertising copywriter, thought up the Pet Rock in 1975, after listening to friends complain about having to care for actual pets. The Pet Rock became an unlikely fad through Christmas that year. They sold for $4 each, and Dahl became a millionaire by the time the product was discontinued in February 1976.

, Dahl tried to explain the product's odd success. "People are so damn bored, tired of all their problems. This takes them on a fantasy trip – you might say we've packaged a sense of humor."

The article describes the Pet Rock in grand terms: "They are not, of course, prosaic pebbles, but egg-shaped Mexican beach stones, nestled on a bed of excelsior and packaged in a little doggy carrying case, equipped with breathing holes."

, Dahl's post-Pet Rock career saw him running a saloon and sail boat brokerage. He wrote

Dahl died in Jacksonville, Oregon.

Summary: Dahl became a millionaire over a matter of months after inventing the Pet Rock in 1975


By Michael Wright and Caroline Rand Herron Decisions taken last week in Boston, Chicago and New York illustrated three of the undesirable alternatives to which big-city public transit systems, more and more, are being driven in efforts to remain afloat financially. And they came as two members of Congress expressed alarm at a proposal by Ronald Reagan's transition team on transportation that, some fear, might sink some transit systems.

In Boston, transit agency directors voted to eliminate Sunday service, cancel bus service for 18,000 schoolchildren and lay off 400 employees -all to save $13.8 million in 1981. The cutbacks came less than a month after the Massachusetts Legislature was forced to create a financial rescue package for the system, which ran out of money in December and had to shut down for a day.

Chicago's regional transit agency, facing a $150 million deficit, raised the basic fare to 80 cents, highest in the country, and said it would go to 95 cents in April and $1 in August. A spokesman for the transit agency blamed the deficit and the need for higher fares on a change that ended state subsidies last year and replaced them with revenue from increased sales taxes in the six-county Chicago area. Those revenues proved inadequate.

In New York, State Comptroller Edward V. Regan began disbursing $235 million in state subsidies, the bulk of it to New York City's perpetually strapped transit system. But the tax under which the subsidy money was collected (on the gross receipts of oil companies doing business in the state) already has been held illegal by one court and is on appeal in another. Mr. Regan said he began the disbursements only after being assured the state could balance its budget even if ordered to refund the taxes already collected.

A spokesman for President-elect Reagan cautioned last week that transition team recommendations should not be taken as settled policy, but Representative James J. Howard, a New Jersey Democrat, said he was ''very concerned that Mr. Reagan is going to follow through on'' on a proposal to end Federal operating subsidies to mass transit systems.

Such subsidies, first approved in 1974, have become indispensable to many transit systems. New York State alone is expected to receive $250 million in Federal operating subsidies this fiscal year, with $200 million of that going to New York City. New Jersey is to get $58 million.


A CLASSIC case in the natural ebb-and-flow of business enterprise in urban America will occur in downtown Bridgeport on Nov. 1. Gimbels, the original anchor store in the city's Lafayette Plaza, will have closed long before then, after 12 years in that prime location. But on that date, it will be succeeded by the D.M. Read Company, the 125-year old Connecticut department store chain. Read's Department Store will shutter its own, long-running store diagonally opposite at Broad and John Streets when it occupies the Gimbel site.

The shift, which has some intriguing ramifications for downtown Bridgeport, touches on a number of controversial issues that involve not only how retailers face up to the up-again, down-again state of consumer-buying this year, but also on the health of urban areas in many states and the competition between cities and suburbs.

For Bridgeport, which for years has suffered an image problem when compared with Hartford because of that city's role as state capital and as the site of a number of large corporations, the recent announcement by Gimbels to vacate came as a bitter blow. But, at the same time, the decision by Read's and its parent company, Allied Stores Corporation, to move into the center has tended to offset that reaction.

Implicit in all that, however, are the issues of ''outsiders'' coming into a city to compete with existing businesses and whether homegrown businesses may not be better adapted to cope because of their more intimate local knowledge and entrenched customer loyalty.

Gimbels decided to pull out of Lafayette Plaza because the store was not sufficiently productive and because that store, and the Gimbels store in Stamford, were not enough to make a more aggressive merchandising and advertising stance economical. Conversely, Read's, with five stores in the state, decided that it could improve its role in the city by moving into a newer, more attractive and more economical site. But the Read Company, according to its president, Saul Zeidman, is basing its hopes for bigger sales in the city also on the fact that ''we're there - and we have a longstanding relationship with the local market.''

Last week, as Gimbels prepared for its closing with a huge storewide clearance, the three-level store was packed with bargain-hungry shoppers. People waited five-deep before counters and congregated in clusters outside the store to be allowed in as space opened up.

It may well have been Gimbels' greatest moment in its Bridgeport history. And it prompted John C. Mandanici, the Mayor of Bridgeport, to some candid remarks late last week. ''Gimbels' leaving won't hurt and Read's takeover should help,'' he said. ''All of a sudden, Gimbels is packing the place with customers. Where have they been for the last 10 years? If they could get so many customers now, they certainly should have been able to get them before, too.''

Mr. Mandanici, who has had some extensive retailing experience in 36 years with the A.&P. supermarket chain, said he had complained to the Gimbels management about the fact that ''the store didn't look alive'' and ''needed more stock and a sense of alertness.''

''After all,'' he said, ''the Plaza's other anchor store, Sears, Roebuck, is one of the best 10 producers in the entire chain. So you can't blame Gimbels' problems on the pulling power of the Plaza. But I think that Read's will do well. It's been in the downtown area for a long time and knows it.''

M. Ronald Ruskin, the chairman and chief executive officer of the Gimbels New York group, was not available for comment last week after a number of attempts to reach him. That store group, based in Manhattan, is one of four regional Gimbels stores also operating in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee. The Gimbel Brothers chain is owned by Batus Retail Division, a unit of Batus Industries, which in turn is controlled by B.A.T. Industries Ltd. of Britain. Saks Fifth Avenue is also owned by Batus, a company with sales last year of more than $4 billion.

As far as the 64-store Lafayette Plaza is concerned, A. Gary Feiger, president of Hammerson Property Corporation, New York, said that the Gimbels-Read's shift should prove helpful to the center because of the Read chain's ''proven pulling power in the city and state.''

''We expect to see a rejuvenation in the Plaza because of it,''he added. While Gimbels occupied three floors, the basement and the first and second levels on 210,000 square feet, Read's will use only the first and second floors, with a total of about 150,000 square feet. The vacated basement will allow the Plaza to convert to a series of offices, Mr. Feiger said, and the developer will also use some land contiguous to the Plaza to provide ''attractive rental space'' for additional offices.

Since the word has come out that Read's will take over the Gimbels site, he said, ''we have received expressions of interest from a number of other retailers wanting to come into the center because they think that it will have a stronger co-anchor now.'' Mr. Feiger said that the Plaza, while having done moderately well, has not realized its full potential because of Gimbels' conservative operating policy there.


IN the beginning there is nepotism. It is hard enough for an experienced architect to get work today. What does a young designer do to get his first cornerstone laid? Build a house for relatives.

Charles Gwathmey, Richard Meier and Robert Venturi, three renowned contemporary architects, made their first splashes, architecturally, with houses for ''the folks.'' Indeed, kin construction dates back to Frank Lloyd Wright, George Howe and Le Corbusier, and the tradition continues.

But commissioning one's child to do a house is a considerably larger act of faith than hanging the budding Bernini's finger painting on the refrigerator. Houses and their design, the biggest single expense in people's lives, involve issues of identity, control, taste, pretentions and, not least, role - who is the ''parent'' and who is the ''child.''

The architect, of course, wants to be the ''parent.'' That is probably why an admonition favored by designers, according to Steven Izenour, a Philadelphia architect and an associate with Venturi, Rauch & Scott Brown, is: ''Never design a house for your parents.'' ''For good reason,'' said Mr. Izenour, who, nevertheless, is doing just that. ''It forces you to deal with things you didn't resolve when growing up.''

Designing for parents can be an emotional mine field, Dr. Lawrence Hatterer, a New York psychoanalyst, said, adding that in the most desirable scenario, ''the parent is the child's first patron with a loving, believing-in-you-even-if-it's-a-failure attitude - a validation of the parent's faith that the individual is going to make it.''

At the least positive end of the scale, Dr. Hatterer went on, ''are the parents with overly high expectations who put a lot of pressure on a youngster by sending messages such as, Well, if your first house isn't a piece of genius then you shouldn't be doing this sort of work.''

Apparently, parents of architects will live in houses a bit more modern than they might have commissioned had their offspring been, say, lawyers.

The current crop of client parents is not commissioning houses just for a child's sake. The parents get not only tremendous commitment but also a bit of immortality that more than compensates for whatever they put up with in matters of style. It seems that as long as there is enough closet space, patron parents are content to get their identity not from the shape of the roof but from being the doting grandparents of the house.

No greater love hath any mother than to trade in her Chippendale living-room furniture for modern built-ins, as did Richard Meier's mother. He was fresh out of Marcel Breuer's office and not yet 30 years old when he designed a U-shaped one-story glass and brick house for his parents, Jerome and Carolyn Meier, in Essex Fells, N.J., in 1964 - the first free-standing building of his career.

''They needed a house all on one level and I needed a job,'' said their son 17 years later. When he presented the design, Mrs. Meier recalled, ''it was a little bit'' - pregnant pause -''advanced.'' But she said that once she and her husband lived in the house they loved it.

Robert Venturi, with a host of theories but only one building to his name at the time, had the luxury of taking three years to refine his design for his mother's house in the Chestnut Hill area of Philadelphia, which was completed in 1964 for $42,000. When the house, a seminal example of the classical phase of postmodernism, was almost completed, Mr. Venturi took his mother to see it.

''She looked across the driveway to the house next door,'' said Mr. Venturi, now a partner in Venturi, Rauch & Scott Brown. ''A trim little Victorian house, so prim and nice, and she sighed, 'Oh, what a lovely house.' '' But after she moved in, he added, she loved it.

Robert Gwathmey, the painter, and his wife, Rosalie, a photographer, asked their son, Charles, now a partner in Gwathmey & Siegel, to design a Long Island beach residence for them. ''You don't presuppose you're doing something that transcends,'' Robert Gwathmey said.

When no builder wanted to bid on the unusual cubistic design, the architect quit a redevelopment job and became the contractor, building his first house, since much imitated, for $35,000 in 1966.

Speaking of the house erected in north-central Vermont for his mother, the author Joan Crowell, and his stepfather, the artist David Crowell, in 1976, Mark Simon said, ''They liked everything I did, they insisted I charge them and they paid on time.''

Although Mrs. Crowell asked for a windmill, her son gave her an underground house, which was nicknamed Tricklingwater because of the trouble and expense of digging a well. Mr. Simon, a partner in a Connecticut-based firm, Moore Grover Harper, conceded that this could have shaken the normal client's faith but not his mother's.

Suppose the parent is a designer too. ''I used to have to build my father's designs,'' said Mr. Izenour of his first building on his own.''Now he's building mine,'' For a year construction has been proceeding painstakingly on a waterfront house in Stony Creek, Conn., for Hildegard Izenour and George Izenour, the theater designer. It will probably be another year before completion.


Judicial intervention in New York City primary elections is more of a tradition than a rarity. The Democratic and Republican regular party organizations often use the state courts to, in effect, call off local district primaries by eliminating the opposition. What makes last week's decision postponing the primary unusual is th at it was made by a Federal court and that it represented a turn of the legal tables. ''The outs'' - minorities, insurgents an d civic groups - successfully used the Federal court against the p olitical establishment - the city's Board of Elections, the Corporati on Counsel, the City Council and, ultimately, the two major politic al parties.

Until now, the Democratic and Republican ''regulars'' almost routinely attempted to invalidate an insurgent's designating petitions at the Board of Elections and in the courts, using the state election law and its complex requirements for getting on the ballot as a trap for the unwary.

Candidates are disqualified for such reasons as improper identification of an election district on petitions, middle initials left out, illegible signatures and failure to follow the detailed form prescribed by the state election law. Tied Up in Courtroom

At a minimum, an insurgent's resources and finances are tied up in a courtroom instead of on the campaign trail until a few days before the election even if the insurgent eventually wins the legal tussle.

The practice of regularly using the courts to eliminate electoral competition is a New York phenomenon. ''I don't know of any other state in the union where it happens as habitually as it does in New York,'' said Richard Scammon, the independent political analyst and author. ''The disgraceful game of knocking people off the ballot at the last minute with manuevering and chicanery prostitutes the whole political process.''

One of many peculiarites in last week's court case before a special three-judge Federal panel was that one of the plaintiffs, City Councilman Gilberto Gerena-Valentin, had been eliminated from the ballot by the Bronx Democratic organization in a separate judicial proceeding in the state courts.

The Councilman, like a growing number of candidates in recent years, turned to a Federal court for relief. He failed, but the precedent of Federal court review of what use d to be purely state court decisions is being established .

There is much to review, according to critics of the present system. They cite several recent and typical examples. City Councilwoman Carol Greitzer of Manhattan, once a leader of the so-called reform wing of the Democratic Party, challenged the petitions of her insurgent opponent, Dorothy Ryan. One of the key objections was that one person who gathered about 420 signatures lived about 125 feet outside the district because of the change in Council District lines. Removed From Ballot

The highly political Board of Elections removed Mrs. Ryan from the ballot. A State Supreme Court referee then recommended that she be reinstated. But Justice Bernard Nadel of State Supreme Court rejected the referee's recomendation. The Appellate Division reversed Justice Nadel, and finally the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, reversed the Appellate Division and removed Mrs. Ryan from the ballot a week before the scheduled primary.

In Queens, Steven S. Orlow, a Democratic City Councilman at Large, challenged the designating petitions of Aaron Weiss. The case first came before a State Supreme Court justice, Joseph S. Calabretta, who had signed Mr. Orlow's petitions.

After Mr. Weiss protested in Federal court, the judge disqualified himself. Mr. Weiss was eventually disqualified through the efforts of a legal battery of four lawyers who hold patronage jobs -three on the staff of Assembly Speaker Stanley Fink and the fourth as counsel to the Queens public administrator.

Assemblyman Frank J. Barbaro of Brooklyn, who had also started his political career as an insurgent, wanted a direct electoral confrontation with Mayor Koch in the Democratic primary, so he used the courts to eliminate another candidate, James Smith, but failed to disqualify Melvin Klenetsky. However, Mr. Klenetsky had to spend at least $8,615 - almost one half of the $20,121 he had raised as of Aug. 31 - in fighting the attempt to disqualify him.

The Mayor's advisers took the view that the more opponents there were, the better to divide the anti-Koch vote, so they did not challenge any mayoral contenders. Uncounted Absentee Votes

Typically, the final ''elections cases'' were not decided by the Court of Appeals until the Friday before the primary scheduled last Thursday - long after absentee ballots had been sent to prospective voters. The Board of Elections lists all disputed candidates on the ballot, but if they are eventually disqualified, absentee votes for them are not counted, thus in effect disenfranchising those voters. In Brooklyn , Justice Joseph Slavin of State Supreme Court presided over election cases. He is former chairman of the Brooklyn Democraticorganization' s law committee, which handles challenges of insurgents.

Dr. Richard C. Wade, the urban historian and a veteran of politicial campaigns in New York and in other states, said he knew of no other state where judges seize on ''some technicality'' to disqualify a candidate. He noted that candidates routinely collected at least twice as many signatures as needed to provide a cushion against legal challenges.

Harold L. Fisher, the Brooklyn lawyer who helped write many sections of the election law, said ''the only criticism'' of the law ''comes from losers.''

However, he suggested that ''the time has come'' for the Legislature to establish a bipartisan commission to hold hearings ''to review the whole law with respect to the nominating process and campaign financing.''


over an online bitcoin-mining experiment has settled his case after a year and a half of legal wrangling.

As part of the settlement, engineering student Jeremy Rubin will not have to pay a $25,000 fine, as long as the software he helped develop does not improperly access computers in New Jersey.

That should not be a problem. The code in question, developed as part of a hackathon in November 2013, never grew beyond the proof-of-concept stage, and a website used in his project is no longer functional.

“A friendly inquiry and a nudge to be sensitive to user policy would have been appropriate and sufficient for a student project,” Rubin wrote on Wednesday.

Rubin’s case, which became a flashpoint for prominent figures in the technology and educational research fields, revolved around an idea that Rubin and some friends mocked up during a weekend hackathon.

The idea, known as Tidbit, was to help online publishers bankroll operations without using advertising, which can track a lot of information about users and crowd Web pages with intrusive advertisements.

Instead, websites would allow Tidbit to access the computers of their visitors and use their processing power to “mine” for bitcoin, the digital alternative currency. Bitcoin mining happens when computers solve complicated math problems, which are used as a kind of password to verify transactions between people transferring money on the bitcoin system. Computers that successfully solve those problems are rewarded with bitcoin.

By spreading that bitcoin mining work across many computers, the idea went, website visitors could allow their computer processors to contribute to the mining efforts and help pay for the free stuff they are viewing.

Not long after the hackathon, New Jersey privacy regulators sent a subpoena to Rubin, looking for the Tidbit source code, bitcoin “wallet” addresses that it had used, and more information.

That riled up academics and tech-policy experts, prompting the president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to get involved. The Electronic Frontier Foundation represented Rubin in the case, at no cost.

As part of the settlement, Rubin wrote, he had to provide New Jersey regulators with the URLs of two websites that had used the Tidbit code in New Jersey.

In their statement, New Jersey officials said they did not aim to stifle entrepreneurship or technical innovation. But they maintained the Tidbit code had been used to access some New Jersey-based users’ computers without warning them first.

Rubin noted the settlement does not include any admission that Tidbit did anything “unfair or deceptive” or violate New Jersey’s laws.

Summary: A website experiment cooked up during a weekend hackathon by some MIT students was targeted by New Jersey regulators for allegedly accessing people’s computers without permission. A year and a half later, the legal fight is over, despite the fact that the code in question was never turned into a real product.


Frankie Benjamin Photography/Allusions by A. Lekay

06/16/2015 AT 04:30 PM EDT

After having a baby boy, Altrichia Lekay couldn't find a two-piece swimsuit that made her feel confident.

"There were high-waist suits a lot of different places, but for me, they just weren't high enough," Lekay tells PEOPLE. "I created my own high-waist swimsuit with a tailor. It gave me confidence to wear a two-piece again and discretely mask the imperfections."

She posted a photo of her suit on

and was immediately bombarded with compliments from friends and followers who wanted to know where she got her suit. Seeing a gap in the market, the 28-year-old launched

"I never thought an idea would transform into an internationally recognized business in two years," she tells PEOPLE. "The world is not a stranger to the high-waisted look from the pin-up era – it's just taking an old idea that personally worked for me, and putting a new twist on it."

Frankie Benjamin Photography / Allusions by A. Lekay

Although she initially created her swimsuits for postpartum women like herself, they're now worn by women of all ages, body types and backgrounds.

"We cater to women from all walks of life, from the most fashionable women, to a mother, to physicians, attorneys, corporate executives, college students, high school students," Lekay says.

Frankie Benjamin Photography / Allusions by A. Lekay

even rocked one of her designs on

"I was very, very excited," she says of seeing Minaj in her patriotic swimsuit. "It was a truly humbling moment for me."

No matter who is wearing her swimsuits, Lekay hopes they feel good about themselves and proud of their bodies.

"When women wear an Allusions by A. Lekay piece, I want them to feel confident, I want them to feel beautiful, I want them to feel empowered, and most importantly I just want them to feel sexy," she says.

"I've gotten testimonials from women who haven't worn a swimsuit in over a decade or two decades, so to me that is rewarding within itself," she continues. "We want to empower women to live life fiercely and fearlessly, and that simply means that whatever it is in life that you want, you go for it."

Summary: "It gave me confidence to wear a two-piece again and discretely mask the imperfections," A. Lekay tells PEOPLE about designing her high-waisted swimsuits


Election season is kicking off with a slew of presidential announcements, and that means candidates are getting the chance to reveal the soundtracks to their campaigns.

While a catchy jingle or upbeat tune (or multiple tunes — Hillary Clinton has an Official Hillary 2016 Playlist on Spotify) may not make or break a campaign, politicians rely on pop hits and rock ballads to bring vitality to their ads and rallies along the trial, often without the consent of musicians. Last week, shortly after Donald Trump repeatedly played Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” at his official campaign launch, Young issued a short statement saying that Trump’s use of the song was unauthorized. Days later, Young commented further with a long-winded Facebook post, saying “I make my music for people, not for candidates.” (In light of Young’s disapproval, Seth Meyers offered Trump an alternative).

Why the real-estate mogul chose Young’s 1989 song in the first place is obvious: It’s a recognizable hit, and though the lyrics criticize the social problems facing America, it nonetheless can be construed as patriotic. Not all presidential candidates’ song picks are so clear, however; many sway from the norm, with varying degrees of success. Here are some of the more unconventional – and often, very misguided – campaign song picks candidates have made throughout history.

1. John Quincy Adams, 1828 – “Little Know Ye Who’s Coming”

Back in 1828, incumbent Adams – whose reelection was looking unlikely given the immense popularity of his opponent, Andrew Jackson – decided to forgo the upbeat route and instead tried to instill fear in the electorate with this song, which included these foreboding lyrics:

Fire’s comin’, swords is comin’,

Pistols, guns and knives is comin’,

If John Quincy not be comin’!

If John Quincy not be comin’!

The ominous tune had no effect at the polls, however. Jackson won by a landslide.

2. William Henry Harrison, 1840 — “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too”

Perhaps the most well-known campaign song of all time, this influential tune was penned for the not-so-memorable William Henry Harrison and his vice presidential nominee John Tyler. Originally titled “Tip and Ty,” the song referenced the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe, which was fought between Native Americans and US forces, led by Harrison, in Indiana Territory. The song-turned-slogan launched what many consider the origins of modern campaigning, taking it to a whole new level with concerts, parades, and promotional material. They Might Be Giants recorded this alternative rock version of the song in 2004.

3. William Howard Taft, 1908 – “Get on a Raft with Taft”

Lyrics like “Get on a raft with Taft, boys/Get on the winning boat” make this a memorable tune, but actually getting on the most unstable of water vessels – especially with Taft who, at over 300 pounds, was the heaviest US president – doesn’t seem like such a wise idea. Voters weren’t put off, though; Taft won the election and later went on to become a Supreme Court chief justice.

4. Dwight Eisenhower, 1952 – “I Like Ike”

Penned by Irving Berlin, this song first appeared in the composer’s musical “Call Me Madam” in 1950, two years before Eisenhower’s presidential campaign. The song was adapted into a catchy jingle appearing in television advertisements, and the “I Like Ike” slogan was plastered over posters, buttons, and banners in both his 1952 and 1956 presidential bids. Eisenhower later awarded Berlin a Congressional Gold Medal for writing “God Bless America.”

5. Lyndon Johnson, 1964 – “Hello Lyndon”

Like Ike, Johnson went with a Broadway tune to enliven his campaign, choosing the title song from Jerry Herman’s popular musical. Replacing “Dolly” with “Lyndon,” the altered chart-topper (Louis Armstrong recorded a version that took over the Beatles’ number one slot on the pop charts) was performed by an original “Dolly” cast member, Carol Channing, at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

6. Richard Nixon, 1960 – “Click with Dick”

Fortunately or unfortunately, a recording of this song can’t be found, but the lyrics, sans music, speak for themselves:

Come on and click with Dick

The one that none can lick

He’s the man to lead the USA

In Dick we have the one,

Who truly gets things done

ev’ry time he has the say,

He’s a man of peace and reason,

On the job in ev’ry season

But he knows how to fight

When he is sure he’s right

So let’s all click with Dick

Voters, of course, didn’t click with Dick that election season — he lost to JFK. “Click with Dick,” however, lives on; clickers sporting the poor choice of slogan are still available for purchase.

7. Ross Perot, 1992 – “Crazy”

One of the oddest campaign song choices, this 1961 Patsy Cline love ballad furthered Perot’s eccentric image and strange campaign approach (the third-party Texas billionaire advertised via paid 30-minute infomercials). Perot revealed his pick at a Dallas rally, dancing onstage to a Dixieland band’s rendition, slowly crooning “Crazy, I’m crazy for feeling so lonely/I’m crazy, crazy for feeling so blue/I knew you’d love me as long as you wanted/And then someday you’d leave me for somebody new.”

8. John McCain, 2008 – “Take a Chance on Me” (Abba)

Not shy about his love for the Swedish pop group, McCain played this catchy tune at many of his rallies. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t make the cut when the Arizona senator accepted his party’s nomination at the Republican National Convention.

9. John McCain/Sarah Palin, 2008 – “Barracuda”

Though ABBA wasn’t included on their RNC playlist, the McCain campaign picked Heart’s “Barracuda” – inspired by the nickname Palin received as the star of her high school basketball team – to play when the vice presidential nominee walked onstage. Band members Ann and Nancy Wilson asked the campaign to stop using their song, saying, “Sarah Palin’s views and values in no way represent us as American women.”

10. Barack Obama, 2008 – “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)”

Obama, like Hillary, had an official campaign playlist in 2012, and has had a lot of hip picks over his two presidential bids, from artists like Florence + the Machine and Ben Harper. A big Stevie Wonder fan, it’s not surprising that Obama picked this soul track, but its opening line doesn’t sound promising for a politician: “Like a fool I went and stayed too long.” Wonder performed the hit at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and was joined by other artists – including Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, and Sting – for a rendition at Obama’s Inauguration in 2009.


Darth Vader, Indiana Jones, Alfred E. Neuman and Kim Novak may all be headed to Chicago to live under the same roof.

The Windy City this week was tapped as the future home of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, the dream project of director George Lucas, whose credits include "Star Wars," "Indiana Jones" and other blockbusters.

"LMNA will be a gathering place to experience narrative art and the evolution of the visual image—from illustration to cinema to digital arts," reads a statement from the museum.

"I'm actually super excited about the Lucas museum because there hasn't been anything that looks at quite what they're going to look at," said Brooks Peck, a curator at the EMP Museum in Seattle, which focuses on music, sci-fi and pop culture. The Lucas project, which is still somewhat under wraps, looks like it will be "highlighting very American art forms" including the work of Norman Rockwell, special effects and sci-fi blockbusters, Peck said. "These are all American inventions."

The website for the planned museum includes a neo-classical painting from Maxfield Parrish, a 1963 cover of MAD magazine, a pinup-style drawing of actress Kim Novak by Alberto Vargas and a still from the movie "Rango." Peck said he's hoping the museum includes a lot of behind-the-scenes items, such as storyboards and technical equipment that is gaining in popularity at other museums,

The Lucas museum will "be a gathering place to experience narrative art and the evolution of moving images—from illustration to cinema to the digital mediums of the future. The museum's seed collection—a gift from founder George Lucas—spans a century-and-a-half and features the images and the mediums that have profoundly shaped our cultural heritage," according to the website.

Seattle's EMP museum, co-founded by Microsoft's Paul Allen, has had some experience in this realm, including "Icons of Science Fiction, Battlestar Galactica" and "Avatar: The Exhibition." The Avatar exhibition was a technical behind-the-scenes exhibition while the Battlestar Galactica show focused more on the story and themes, said Peck, who worked on both shows. "Sci-fi allows you to explore different social problems a little bit removed because it makes it easier to talk about," he said.

Indeed, this won't be the first time Lucas' work has found its way into a museum. In 1997, the hugely popular "Star Wars: The Magic of Myth" exhibition made its debut at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and toured internationally for several years after.

That exhibition drew heavily on Joseph Campbell's view of the "hero's journey" drawing on mythical themes such as a young hero with faithful companions, an endangered maiden, a wise guide, monster combat, sacrifice and resurrection. And of course it included scale models of the Imperial Star Destroyer and the Millennium Falcon and costumes from the likes of R2-D2, C-3PO, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Yoda, Boba Fett, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Darth Maul and Jabba the Hutt.

"George was a good friend of Joseph Campbell, and has been a good friend to the Foundation," the not-for-profit Joseph Campbell Foundation said in a statement to CNBC. "We admire and respect George's decision to share his extensive art collection with the public, and wish him success in finding an appropriate venue."

Read MoreBucket list summer camps for grown-ups

Chicago this week was chosen as the winning city for the museum, which is planned to open by 2018. On Wednesday, the location was approved by Lucas' museum board members; their names have not yet been made public, a spokeswoman for the museum said.

"Choosing Chicago is the right decision for the Museum, but a difficult decision for me personally because of my strong personal and professional roots in the Bay Area," said Lucas, who set "American Graffiti" in his hometown of Modesto, California.

Summary: The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art aims to open in 2018, based on the personal collection of the "Star Wars" director.


08/10/2015 AT 10:00 PM EDT

The body of Jerold Joseph Williams, the 5-year-old who went missing from a campsite near the Grand Canyon last week, has been found,

The Coconino County Sheriff's Office did not immediately release other details.

The young boy disappeared from a group of about 20 people on Thursday when he left their campsite in search of grasshoppers. Hundreds of searchers spend the last five days looking for the Colorado City native.

Members of the volunteer search party worked through heavy rain on Monday, hoping to find clues that would lead them to the boy.

According to AP, authorities reported no signs of foul play or abduction.

Summary: The remains of 5-year-old Jerold Joseph Williams were found on Monday, according to reports


Malaysia, China and Australia will meet in September to "refine" the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 after part of the plane's wing was discovered on an Indian Ocean island last month, more than a year on from the aircraft's tragic disappearance.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak said on August 5 that experts had "conclusively confirmed" that the debris found on the French island of Reunion - a piece of the wing known as the "flaperon" - came from the doomed flight, which vanished 17 months ago in one of aviation's greatest mysteries.

However, French investigators were more cautious, saying only there was a "very high probability" that the flaperon came from the plane, sparking anger from relatives over the ambiguity.

"With the discovery of the flaperon, we have to sit down with Australia and China to map the way forward to find the plane," Malaysia's Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi told AFP.

"We hope to refine and prioritise the search efforts. Definitely, the search will continue in the same area," he said, adding that officials were working out the date for the gathering and the host for the meeting.

The jet disappeared from radar on March 8 last year after mysteriously veering off its original flight path from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Investigators believe the aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean.

Of the 239 people on board, the majority were Malaysians and Chinese.

Australia has been leading the search for the plane, the largest multinational search operation in history.

More than 60,000 square kilometres of the sea floor have been searched, with no trace of the missing Boeing 777 found until last month's discovery.

It was announced in April that the search area could be expanded up to 120,000 square kilometres if needed.

Do you have any news photos or videos?

Summary: A meeting next month between Malaysia, China and Australia will determine the next steps in the search for flight MH370.


One stock on Cramer's radar that is still cheap in a world of overvaluation is Perrigo. This company is the largest maker of private label over-the-counter drugs, with a generic drug business that is growing and a small proprietary drug business.

While consumers have more money in their pocket to burn with cheap oil prices, Cramer still thinks the scars of the great recession are there and they will buy private label store brands.

Though the stock has pulled back recently, Cramer still thinks it could yield long-term gains once it completes its recent acquisition of Omega Pharma. To find out what could be in store for the future, he sat down with Perrigo Company CEO Joe Papa.

"We will go from being in about six countries, commercially, to about 38 countries. We think that is the real exciting part for us," said Papa.

Another stock that stirred the pot on Thursday was Wal-Mart when it announced it would increase the wages of its 500,000 employees by approximately a dollar an hour, and ultimately take a hit on next year's earnings to do so. And while Cramer thinks this move is awesome, he is also concerned.

"All I can say is hallelujah. This move, a big break with the past, shows that the new CEO Doug McMillon gets it," said the "Mad Money" host.

Yet there is a big problem: Wal-Mart is still paying much less than most other quality retailers. For instance, the average pay at Costco is $21, while the average pay at Wal-Mart next February will be $10 an hour.

"Costco's probably the single-most generous retailer in the country when it comes to benefits, which, as we know can be worth far more than hourly wages in many cases when it comes to keeping the best employees," said Cramer.

Read More Cramer: The one big problem with Wal-Mart's stock

In the Lightning Round, Cramer gave his take on a few caller favorite stocks:

CBS Corp.: "If it comes down, you want to buy it back because they are in there buying the stock back with you."

Box Inc.: "I think Box is fine, it's long term and I'm not looking for them to shoot the lights out in the first quarter. I like the stock long term."

Read More Lightning Round: This franchise is dynamite

Summary: “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer tries to steer you away from a potential pitfall.


Leffert said if Etsy's relative lack of profitability isn't as big a concern as with other tech IPOs, the company's margins place its story in a more negative light. While people may compare Etsy to eBay as far as the structure of the company, Leffert compared it to GrubHub, and unfavorably, in terms of margins generated on sales. "GrubHub has much higher margins with similar sales and a similar growth rate," he said.

Over time, Etsy thinks it will get more of that investment back in higher sales, and it will be able to scale back its spending as the company gets bigger. Long-term plans call for Etsy to trim marketing spending to 16 percent of revenue, from 20 percent last year, and product development spending will also moderate. That will let margins reach their long-term targets, Salen said.

Read MoreCan Etsy do good and make money at the same time?

The deal values Etsy at close to 9 times last year's $196 million in sales and roughly 7.5 times this year's sales, assuming a conservative assumption that it grows 20 percent, according to Renaissance Capital. That's less than what social media companies with wider profit margins attract, but twice as much as the more mature eBay, which, like Etsy, is a global platform for private sellers that also offers payment services and other extras.

Leffert said the valuation isn't overdone. "Their gross merchandise sales are still growing fast," he said, explaining that the company earned $23.1 million in earnings before interest, taxes and non-cash charges last year. "They have some room to grow, because it hasn't slowed down much yet,'' he said.

IPOfinancial.com's Menlow thinks the valuation reflects a financial picture that won't develop for another two to three years. "That is evidently comfortable for many investors who don't think the deal is out of line,'' he said.

Summary: Can a niche market like artisan goods deliver the high growth investors have come to expect from dot-com successes? That's Etsy's challenge.


While accurately predicting the housing crisis in 2007, Schiff has since made a number of very bold, but very wrong calls, including warnings about an impending currency crisis and a prediction two years ago that gold would go to $5,000.

Still, when pressed, Schiff held his ground, and turned a bit combative. "You have no idea of the enormity of the things that I have said that came true."

To be fair, Schiff correctly predicted that the Fed would likely push off raising rates last year and this year, as well.

"I doubt the Federal Reserve is going to raise rates," Schiff said. "The bubble is too big to pop," Schiff said, referring to what he sees as an inflated equity and housing market. "They are going to need QE4 to keep the air from coming out of this bubble."

But Nations wasn't having it: "So why is everybody else wrong and you are right?"

Summary: Peter Schiff is known for making bold and dire predictions, but his latest about QE4 got under the skin of "Futures Now" trader Scott Nations.


In 2011, shortly after Mike Sharkey took venture capital money for his San Francisco startup, one of the investors asked him an unexpected question: “So, when are we having our first board meeting?”

Brothers Mike, Chris and Peter Sharkey are among Australia’s most well-known startup veterans. A decade ago, while still in school, Mike joined Chris to help market his home-rental business Stayz, with the simple goal of hoping to impress girls. Chris sold Stayz for $17.5m in 2006. Since then, the brothers have begun several businesses and moved to San Francisco with their current venture, Autopilot.

“I was like, ‘Board meeting? Oh, right, I guess we have to have board meetings’,” Sharkey recalled.

Sharkey and his co-founders in Autopilot, (a business that automates marketing services), brothers Chris and Peter, weren’t new to creating companies. They came up with their first start-up as teenagers in Australia, a home-rental company called Stayz , later acquired by HomeAway. But their past ventures didn’t require them to have a board of directors.

At the first Autopilot board meetings, the brothers overloaded members with slides and statistics showing every facet of the company. “We were trying to tell the life story of the company every quarter, and it just wasn’t working,” Sharkey said.

Trying a different tactic, the brothers instituted ‘strategy beers,’ where they’d take board members out for a drink individually to fill them in on complicated issues and to ask for advice.

“The strategy beers really set the tone,” Mike Sharkey said. Now, their board meetings are full of advice from members, he said, exactly the thing the young company needs.

The mistakes the Sharkey brothers made early on are common for managers who work with a board for the first time. It’s especially true for those who have spent years in management roles that didn’t involve dealing with a board.

(For more on this topic, please see Above Board column on the biggest flub of tech founders.)

This lack of understanding of how to liaise with a board is a problem not just for CEOs and owners of start-ups who have taken seed money. Many vice presidents and upper-level execs in large corporations find themselves making presentations before a board of executives, often without any preparation for managing the relationship.

It’s crucial that managers quickly develop a good rapport with the board that can decide their fate, said Martin Coyne II, the former Kodak executive and author of the book, How to Manage Your Board While Your Board Manages You. “If you look at a board as a customer, it’s easy to ask yourself, ‘What does this customer want from me?’,” Coyne said.

That begins by getting an understanding of what information board members want from you and what decisions they expect to be included in before a decision is made.

Go in with the highlights

“The CEOs are living and breathing the business, probably 15 hours a day,” said Coyne, who is also chairman of the CEO Learning Network, an information resource for managers. “But the board doesn’t need to have that level of detail. Go in with the highlights.”

Rather than rehashing the day-to-day minutiae, the best way to approach board meetings is to share three or maybe four of the biggest issues of the company at the moment and ask members of the board to weigh in on major decisions and strategies. It’s likely the board is stacked with people who have faced the same kind of decision and have feedback to guide the company in the right direction, Coyne said.

It’s also crucial for managers to understand the existing culture of the board, said Jörg Rocholl, president of the European School of Management and Technology in Berlin and member of the economic advisory board of the German Federal Ministry of Finance.

Some boards will have a jovial, mentor-like relationship with the CEO who reports to them, while others will see the role as one of fiscal governance. This relationship style isn’t something that’s necessarily decided by the country where the company is based, but instead it’s more about the culture set by the members.

The key is to learn how to work within the constraints of the board while also staying nimble, Rocholl said.

“The process of bringing decisions to a board instead of just making them yourself will seem slow at first. You need to respect the bureaucratic process while also holding on to the entrepreneurial spirit that made the company successful,” Rocholl said.

Above all, managers need to approach meetings the same way they would a sales call, Rocholl said. Go in with an elevator pitch that proves why the board should follow your direction. “This is when it’s necessary to be convincing, to argue well, and to show the board why they need to consider what’s in front of them,” Rocholl said.

They’re like opinion pieces that set the tone before the board needs to make a decision

Sharkey got to grips with it this year when he decided to shift his company a bit from the original idea. He honed his product to a smaller, more targeted segment of the audience. The Autopilot board included investors who had bought into the company based on that original pitch, so the Sharkey brothers needed to show them that this new direction could be more profitable.

Luckily, the brothers had gained the trust of the board by then with their personal meetings and “strategy beers”. They had figured out that boards don’t like to be surprised at a meeting by big news, so they made sure any major issues the company faced were discussed at length before a meeting began. They also began giving board members a one-page written summary of the major issue they’re facing at a meeting.

“They’re like opinion pieces that set the tone before the board needs to make a decision,” Sharkey said. In the end, the Sharkey brothers learned an important lesson for any executive: working with a board can turn from burden to an invaluable resource.

To comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Capital, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.

Summary: Your after-work drinks may be the most important meeting you have all week. Here's why.


NYSE, Nasdaq, BATS and other exchanges reported issues with price and trading data Thursday afternoon, due to market-wide glitch at a key piece of market infrastructure that consolidates quotes and trading data.

The issue was with the SIP, the Security Information Processor, for stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange. NYSE alerted "market-wide issues" between 1:40 p.m. ET and 1:50 p.m. ET, later reporting a hardware failure affected three of its data feeds from 1:07 p.m. ET to 1:34 p.m. ET.

According to an alert on BATS Exchange, the NYSE shifted operations to its disaster recovery site in Chicago. The outage was reportedly caused by problems at the exchange data center in Mahwah.

NYSE said it would restore normal operations at the primary data center for Friday trading.

Other exchanges reported problems after 1:50 p.m. when the systems were reconnecting. BATS trading desk reported no problems matching order but there were problems seeing what was on the tape. BATS declared operations normal at 2:10 p.m.

Options exchanges, like CBOE and Nasdaq OMX PHLX (Philadelphia exchange), were also affected because the issues affected Options Price Reporting Authority. OPRA provides last sale information and current options quotes to the 12 options exchanges.

The technical glitches coincided with a move up in the stock market, and traders said the coincidence which resulted in temporary spikes in some individual stocks, were later reversed. Traders also saw a coincidental jump in eMini S&P 500 prices and volume.

The Nasdaq blamed its August 2013 "flash freeze" on a problem with the SIP, which affected trading for an entire afternoon.

Click here for the latest on the markets.

—CNBC's Patti Domm, Ben Berkowitz and Everett Rosenfeld contributed to this report.

Summary: The NYSE and the NYSE market experienced a brief issue involving publishing and receiving trades and quotes on Thursday.


09/18/2015 AT 10:55 AM EDT

Droughtlander is in full swing, but we've got a little treat to ease the withdrawal pains – an exclusive track from the show's new album!

"The Key to Lallybroch" is from volume 2 of

's original television soundtrack, available Sept. 25. You might remember this romantic number from the Starz series'

, "The Reckoning," in which Claire (

) realize that marriage isn't as easy as they thought it would be.

They spend most of the episode arguing after Jamie famously spanks Claire for disobeying him. But, at the very end, they make up the way

does best: with a sex scene.

"To me, this track is one of the most complete statements of the Claire and Jamie Theme that I ever wrote for the first season," composer Bear McCreary tells PEOPLE of setting the mood for that episode's final scene. "Their reunion – and subsequent steamy sex scene – at the episode's conclusion is all the more poignant because we've seen them at their breaking points."

He adds, "My hope was that my score can help the audience feel as I did when I first watched this scene: that this is the moment their relationship truly solidifies, and is forever redefined. "

returns in early 2016 when the Frasers take France. You can preorder the album on

Summary: The track plays during a pivotal moment in the midseason premiere


One of the main criticisms of the Summers haters was that he would have politicized the Fed, destroying the veneer of independence the central bank inexplicably enjoys. If you read the op-eds though, it's already too late for that.

Politics? Did somebody say "politics"? Here's a conservative case that the Summers kerfuffle came about because feminists didn't like him.

So many tweets, so little time. The twitterverse was abuzz overnight with Summers chatter. Mark Halperin at Time had one of the truly great ones—except you have to be really, really old to get it:

And, finally ... CNBC's Steve Liesman reports that a survey we did here shows that Wall Street now may be getting exactly who it wants for Fed chairman, shocking as that may be to believe.

_ By CNBC's Jeff Cox. Follow him @JeffCoxCNBCcom on Twitter.

Summary: Happy Monday, and R.I.P. Lehman Brothers, five years later. Welcome to the special Larry Summers edition of the six-pack.


When the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian left Paris in 1938 to escape the threat of a German invasion, he ended up sharing a boarding house in London's Belsize Park – and a new exhibition at the Courtauld gallery shows that the two years he spent in the UK were productive ones, in which he painted some of his purest and most powerful works.

Mondrian || Nicholson: In Parallel traces the relationship between the Dutch modernist master and his friend Ben Nicholson, the British artist who invited him to London. It shows the way Nicholson's work developed in response to Mondrian's, with colourful paintings with wobbly lines giving way to austere white reliefs – one carved out of a table bought from Camden market.

However, letters and other memorabilia displayed at the Courtauld exhibition also reveal that Mondrian was a less forbidding character than his white spaces, precise grids and strict use of primary colours might suggest.

A Snow White and the Seven Dwarves postcard to his brother signed "Sleepy" reveals Mondrian's love of Disney films - he went to see Pinocchio with Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth, Nicholson's second wife, in London.

Mondrian became an avid reader of the London Evening Standard, and – once he had overcome his fear of the steep escalators on the underground – went dancing at London's jazz clubs with the American art collector Peggy Guggenheim, although he was renowned as a terrible mover.

Coincidentally, the Mondrian/Nicholson exhibition arrives in London at the same time as Picasso and Modern British Art at Tate Britain, which charts British responses to another European master and has a section on Nicholson.

Some critics of the Picasso show have claimed that the Brits wilt next to the Spaniard. Dr Barnaby Wright, who curated the Mondrian/Nicholson show with Professor Christopher Green, said that such comparisons are unhelpful.

"The shows are not some kind of boxing match," Wright said. "They're about how inventive, in relation to European artists, British artists are.

"In this exhibition Nicholson shows himself to be incredibly original and daring. Once he and Mondrian have grown to share this basic aesthetic language, he becomes a really inventive artist.

"We want people to come and understand how the parallel lines that they worked along operated."

Mondrian was particularly nervous about the onset of war, as his work had been included in the Nazis' notorious 1937 show of "degenerate art".

Once settled in London, he wrote in a letter to Nicholson: "Yesterday morning the gouvernment [sic] gave me very kindly a gasmasque [sic] at the town hall. That is not very encouraging."

Mondrian left London in 1940 after his windows had been broken by German bombs in the blitz.

Green said he declined an invitation to move with Nicholson, Hepworth and their children to St Ives, on the grounds that there was "nothing there apart from water". Instead the Dutch artist, an avowed lover of cities, who hated trees and the colour green, moved to New York.

Mondrian's late pictures – such as Broadway Boogie Woogie – will forever associate the artist with that city. However, even after having settled there, he wrote a letter to John Cecil Stephenson, another pioneering British modernist, saying: "I do like New York, but in London I was of course more at home."

Mondrian || Nicholson In Parallel is at the Courtauld Gallery, London, until 20 May

Summary: Courtauld show traces relationship with artist Ben Nicholson who invited Dutch modernist fleeing German invasion threat


"We want to trade strong in the direction of the break," Ross said. "We think that projects measured upside to $95 first, with ultimate upside of $105."

The stock rose as high as $87.91 on Tuesday.

Plenty of options traders also see a move to $95 ahead, according to Stacey Gilbert, head of derivative strategy with Susquehanna.

"The market's implying around a 25 percent probability that Facebook shares are above $95 by September," Gilbert said.

Additionally, "the market is saying that it's less risky than it has been in years," since the overall cost of both call and put options on Facebook has fallen.

Analysts tend to be positive on the stock as well. In a Monday note, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster raised his price target to $120, reasoning that with its ownership of Oculus VR, "FB is the best play on the next computer paradigm of virtual reality," and its presence in the virtual reality space "gives us greater confidence in Facebook's ability to sustain usership and revenue growth across its portfolio of products over the next 10+ years."

Of course, the potential knock against the stock is its markedly high valuation. That is to say, if the future doesn't unfurl in the way that bulls predict it will, Facebook investors are likely to be disappointed.

Summary: Shares of the surging social giant are set to keep soaring, says technical analyst Rich Ross.


‘Elegant’ is the term the German tuner Mansory uses to describe this modified Bentley Conti GTC, though we suspect you might have your adjective in mind. Whatever that adjective might be, it is inadequate, because this Bentley sports 987bhp and therefore cares not for adjectives.

That’s right, this Bentley Convertible has Bugatti Veyron levels of power. For this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, Mansory wasn’t satisfied with boosting up a Huracán to 1250bhp, and so worked up a little treat for the W12-engined GTC on the side.

It’s the GTC ‘Speed’ version of the W12 – which means 626bhp as ‘standard’ – and gets new pistons and piston rods, new cams, new turbos, a better intercooler, air filter and ‘high-power’ exhaust system, and a fresh ECU.

As such, power jumps up to 987bhp at 6,000rpm, and torque rises to 885lb ft at just 2,000rpm. This is a set of big numbers. The more striking figure is the 0-62mph time, which drops from the standard GTC Speed’s 4.4s, to just 3.9s. Half a second quicker, then.

It’ll top out at 205mph, and features, along with the Bentley’s standard four-wheel drive system, wider, fatter alloys and a 30mm drop thanks to sports suspension. You will also not be able to miss the carbon fibre elements around the face, bonnet, side skirts and rear, along with a little rear wing. Downforce is mentioned. Taste is not.

Ditto the interior, which features lots of hand-crafted (orange) leather and much embroidery.

Do you like this Extra-Speed GTC Speed with orange paint and orange leather and a 0-62mph time of 3.9 seconds and a 205mph top speed? We suspect a small number of you just might…

A version of this story apeared on TopGear.com.

Summary: Meet the monstrous, 987-horsepower Mansory Bentley GTC.


His fraud worked like this: Belfort gave his brokers—often young people who didn't even need a high school diploma—a pitch speech for clients. Twice a day he'd fire them up to make calls.

Their targets were usually well-to-do individuals who were pitched a traditional blue chip stock first, in order to make Stratton Oakmont seem legitimate. Then they were pitched a little known IPO. Belfort owned shares of iffy companies going public and would sell them to clients as prices neared their peaks. Clients would continue to make money for about six to eight months, before shares almost always collapsed, wiping them out.

(Read more: 2014—The year of the CEO in handcuffs?)

A constant turnover in clients kept Belfort and his staff swimming in millions. He spent his fortune lavishly on Coco Chanel's former yacht (which he later sank in a storm while high on Quaaludes), a Long Island mansion once owned by former NYSE Chairman and CEO Richard Grasso, and drugs. Lots and lots of drugs.

At one point, Belfort said he was using 22 different drugs in order to balance everything out.

"It was insane," he said.

Summary: Long before Leonardo DiCaprio recreated the debauchery of the ‘90s for the film "The Wolf of Wall Street," CNBC profiled the man behind the story.


This is a picture of Joni Mitchell that I took in the spring of 1969. I was living with her in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, which is where I wrote the song Our House. I later recorded it with my band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

At the time, Joni and I were blazingly in love. Our relationship was heaven to me, and it was heartbreaking when it was over. She was an incredibly talented woman; I have no idea what she was doing with me.

Sometimes in California it gets gloomy when the clouds roll in off the ocean. It was one of those cloudy days when I managed to get this shot of Joni without her knowing. She was listening to her album Clouds, which she had just finished. There are a lot of places you have to go before you finally have the courage to put out a record; here, Joni was checking the acetate for clicks, pops and scratches. It's very interesting being in a house with two crazy musicians: you have to have great respect for the creative process, and I certainly didn't want to interfere when Joni was in that moment.

I got into photography when I was 10. My father bought a camera from a friend at work and took us to Belle Vue Zoo in Manchester to shoot pictures. Back at home, he would cover the window with a blanket, put a blank piece of paper into a colourless liquid, and all of a sudden this image appeared from nowhere, like magic.

Having had millions of pictures taken of me since my career started in the 1960s, with the Hollies, I know that when a camera is pointing in your direction, you immediately try to look like James Dean. I hate that; I don't want anyone to know when I'm taking their picture.

This was shot through the back of a hole in a kitchen chair. I only took one frame, as the click disturbed her. What I saw in my mind before I pressed the shutter, I knew I'd got. When it was developed it was a thrill to discover that the composition was strong, and that the density between the white and black was good, too. I think she knew it was a good picture. This was not after two hours of makeup; it was Joni after breakfast.

I think this photograph shows how dedicated Joni is as an artist. You can sense that she has gone to another place. It is a quiet moment of rock'n'roll energy.

Influences: Diane Arbus, Weegee, Sebastião Salgado

High point: "I don't dwell on the past. My next best shot is going to happen tomorrow."

Low point: "The shots I've missed and wished I had my camera there."

Top tip: "Learn how to use a camera and then forget it; rely on gut instinct instead."

Summary: 'Joni and I were blazingly in love. I shot this frame through a hole in the back of a kitchen chair in 1969'