diff --git a/Documentation/git-rebase.txt b/Documentation/git-rebase.txt
index 10f2924f4d..03e867a403 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-rebase.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-rebase.txt
@@ -51,20 +51,69 @@ would be:
     D---E---F---G master
 ------------
 
-While, starting from the same point, the result of either of the following
-commands:
+The latter form is just a short-hand of `git checkout topic`
+followed by `git rebase master`.
 
-    git-rebase --onto master~1 master
-    git-rebase --onto master~1 master topic
+Here is how you would transplant a topic branch based on one
+branch to another, to pretend that you forked the topic branch
+from the latter branch, using `rebase --onto`.
 
-would be:
+First let's assume your 'topic' is based on branch 'next'.
+For example feature developed in 'topic' depends on some
+functionality which is found in 'next'.
 
 ------------
-              A'--B'--C' topic
-             /
-    D---E---F---G master
+    o---o---o---o---o  master
+         \
+          o---o---o---o---o  next
+                           \
+                            o---o---o  topic
 ------------
 
+We would want to make 'topic' forked from branch 'master',
+for example because the functionality 'topic' branch depend on
+got merged into more stable 'master' branch, like this:
+
+------------
+    o---o---o---o---o  master
+        |            \
+        |             o'--o'--o'  topic
+         \
+          o---o---o---o---o  next
+------------
+
+We can get this using the following command:
+
+    git-rebase --onto master next topic
+
+
+Another example of --onto option is to rebase part of a
+branch.  If we have the following situation:
+
+------------
+                            H---I---J topicB
+                           /
+                  E---F---G  topicA
+                 /
+    A---B---C---D  master
+------------
+
+then the command
+
+    git-rebase --onto master topicA topicB
+
+would result in:
+
+------------
+                 H'--I'--J'  topicB
+                /
+                | E---F---G  topicA
+                |/
+    A---B---C---D  master
+------------
+
+This is useful when topicB does not depend on topicA.
+
 In case of conflict, git-rebase will stop at the first problematic commit
 and leave conflict markers in the tree.  You can use git diff to locate
 the markers (<<<<<<) and make edits to resolve the conflict.  For each
diff --git a/merge-recursive.c b/merge-recursive.c
index 2ba43ae84b..c81048d7a7 100644
--- a/merge-recursive.c
+++ b/merge-recursive.c
@@ -1308,6 +1308,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	const char *branch1, *branch2;
 	struct commit *result, *h1, *h2;
 
+	git_config(git_default_config); /* core.filemode */
 	original_index_file = getenv("GIT_INDEX_FILE");
 
 	if (!original_index_file)
diff --git a/path.c b/path.c
index bb89fb02dc..d2c076d7cb 100644
--- a/path.c
+++ b/path.c
@@ -279,7 +279,7 @@ int adjust_shared_perm(const char *path)
 			    : 0));
 	if (S_ISDIR(mode))
 		mode |= S_ISGID;
-	if (chmod(path, mode) < 0)
+	if ((mode & st.st_mode) != mode && chmod(path, mode) < 0)
 		return -2;
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/wt-status.c b/wt-status.c
index 7dd68575d1..9692dfa325 100644
--- a/wt-status.c
+++ b/wt-status.c
@@ -154,10 +154,8 @@ void wt_status_print_initial(struct wt_status *s)
 static void wt_status_print_updated(struct wt_status *s)
 {
 	struct rev_info rev;
-	const char *argv[] = { NULL, NULL, NULL };
-	argv[1] = s->reference;
 	init_revisions(&rev, NULL);
-	setup_revisions(2, argv, &rev, NULL);
+	setup_revisions(0, NULL, &rev, s->reference);
 	rev.diffopt.output_format |= DIFF_FORMAT_CALLBACK;
 	rev.diffopt.format_callback = wt_status_print_updated_cb;
 	rev.diffopt.format_callback_data = s;
@@ -168,9 +166,8 @@ static void wt_status_print_updated(struct wt_status *s)
 static void wt_status_print_changed(struct wt_status *s)
 {
 	struct rev_info rev;
-	const char *argv[] = { NULL, NULL };
 	init_revisions(&rev, "");
-	setup_revisions(1, argv, &rev, NULL);
+	setup_revisions(0, NULL, &rev, NULL);
 	rev.diffopt.output_format |= DIFF_FORMAT_CALLBACK;
 	rev.diffopt.format_callback = wt_status_print_changed_cb;
 	rev.diffopt.format_callback_data = s;
@@ -225,10 +222,8 @@ static void wt_status_print_untracked(const struct wt_status *s)
 static void wt_status_print_verbose(struct wt_status *s)
 {
 	struct rev_info rev;
-	const char *argv[] = { NULL, NULL, NULL };
-	argv[1] = s->reference;
 	init_revisions(&rev, NULL);
-	setup_revisions(2, argv, &rev, NULL);
+	setup_revisions(0, NULL, &rev, s->reference);
 	rev.diffopt.output_format |= DIFF_FORMAT_PATCH;
 	rev.diffopt.detect_rename = 1;
 	run_diff_index(&rev, 1);