No rain on this parade

In the West, "raining on someone’s parade" is just an expression. In China, it’s a serious concern for the government. Worried that the weather might not cooperate for the 60th anniversary of the revolution, Beijing plans to make it cooperate, dispatching 18 aircraft to chemically dissipate clouds over the capital and 48 "fog-dispersal vehicles" around the city. All this to ensure the military fly-overs go off without a hitch. Meantime, the government has told ordinary folk to stay home from the big parade to Tiananmen Square, which is an invitation-only event for dignitaries, big-wigs and assorted Party loyalists. Regular folk will have to content themselves watching the passing warplanes, or failing that, the cloud killers.

The Vancouver Sun