His threat was directed at countries in the so-called BRIC alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
I was talking to my friend who was my Airbnb host in Charleston SC last time we visited. She used to own an art gallery in Paris, and once the election was over she put her house up for sale and is moving back despite several years in Charleston and really liking it there. Says she's not hanging around for this shit. Honestly people should take a very hard look at getting out.
His threat was directed at countries in the so-called BRIC alliance
What is meant by this? "so-called" is a qualifier we like to use to infer that something is using a name that doesn't actually define it well. Is this not actually an "alliance," or is this just unapologetic journalist bias trying to use negative language to speak about this group?
Genuine question. I can't think of a third option, but if there is one, please, chime in.
It used to be BRIC (Brazil, India, China, Russia) or BRICS (same + South Africa). In the article, it has been extended again to other nations, therefore "so-called" because its membership is not the same anymore. Also, the membership seems very informal, it's just a bunch of countries maintaining ties and having discussions, not a real group of countries, with its own set of rules and institutions.