TASK DEFINITION: Given a document and an entity the task is to select the author's sentiment towards the entity. Sentiments can be Positive, Neutral and Negative. Select Positive if the article expresses a positive view towards the given entity or praises its quality or skills. Select Neutral if the document expresses no clear view towards the entity or has equal amounts of positive and negative statements or expressing some fact/quote by someone else. Select Negative if the article expresses a negative view towards like harsh remarks, criticizing entities action/decision etc. Note that URLs in the text have been replaced with [Link].
PROBLEM: What is the sentiment of the following document towards the entity Fergie ? Fergie  apologized on Monday for  her  sultry version of the national anthem the night before that didn’t go over so well at the NBA All-Star Game  particularly on social media. Even Roseanne Barr chimed in.
 Fergie   42  acknowledged that  her  slowed-down jazzy version – as described by People magazine – didn’t strike the right note. Others described  her  take on the “Star Bangled Banner” as “sexy.”
"I've always been honored and proud to perform the national anthem and last night I wanted to try something special for the NBA "  she  said  per People. "I'm a risk taker artistically  but clearly this rendition didn’t strike the intended tone. I love this country and honestly tried my best."
"Something insane and terrible happened before tonight’s NBA All-Star Game " said Chris Thompson  a writer for sports website Deadspin. "No one will ever be able to explain it to my satisfaction. Even in the context of the NBA's disastrous  shriekingly awkward pregame nightmare   Fergie’s national anthem  was an absolute abomination. A goose being strangled in your living room would produce a much more pleasant series of noises."
Actress and comedian Roseanne Barr  whose rendition of  the national anthem  in 1990 at San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium was roundly criticized as one of the worse  per the Sporting News  even criticized Ferguson's performance on Twitter.
Who saw  Fergie 's national anthem performance at the NBA All Star Game? I think mine was better lowkey — Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) February 19  2018
Fergie’s rendition of  the National Anthem  was originally written by Francis Scott Out of Key. — bob saget (@bobsaget) February 19  2018
 Fergie  sang  that anthem  so bad  Kaepernick stood up and told  her  stop with the disrespect. — Bãlldiñhö™ 🇧🇲 (@Balldinho) February 19  2018
Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas just gave us the drunken aunt at your wedding version of the Star Spangled Banner. Yikes. — Jason Greene (@JasonGreene17) February 19  2018

SOLUTION: Positive

PROBLEM: What is the sentiment of the following document towards the entity Akihito ? TOKYO (Reuters) -  Japan’s Emperor Akihito  is likely to abdicate at the end of March 2019 and Crown Prince Naruhito is expected to ascend the throne in April  the first abdication by a Japanese monarch in nearly two centuries  the Asahi newspaper reported on Friday.
In June  Japan’s parliament passed a law allowing Emperor  Akihito  to abdicate and the government needs to hammer out the details including the timing.
 Akihito   83  who has had heart surgery and treatment for prostate cancer  said in rare public remarks last year he feared age might make it hard for him to continue to fulfill his duties.
Japan's Empress Michiko poses for a photo with Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo  in this handout picture taken October 4  2017 and provided by the Imperial Household Agency of Japan. Imperial Household Agency of Japan/HANDOUT via Reuters
The abdication law  which applies only to Akihito and not to future emperors  included a resolution to debate letting female royals stay in the imperial family after marriage but did not touch on the controversial topic of allowing women to inherit.
Asahi said the expected 2019 abdication schedule would minimize the impact on people in changing to a new imperial reign from the current Heisei Era  which started in 1989 after the death of  Akihito ’s father Hirohito  according to the Asahi.
 Akihito   the first Japanese emperor who was never considered divine  has worked for decades at home and abroad to soothe the wounds of World War Two which was fought in  his  father Hirohito’s name.
The Empress also said she felt “an immeasurable sense of peace” that Akihito will be able to rest and spend quiet days after years of pursuing how the Emperor should be.

SOLUTION: Positive

PROBLEM: What is the sentiment of the following document towards the entity Nate ? BILOXI/PASCAGOULA  Miss. (Reuters) - Hurricane Nate weakened to a tropical depression on Sunday after coming ashore in Mississippi  flooding roads and buildings but sparing the state from catastrophic damages.
Maximum sustained winds from Nate  the fourth major storm to hit the United States in less than two months  dropped to 35 miles per hour (55 km per hour) as it moved through Alabama and into Tennessee.
 Nate  killed at least 30 people in Central America before entering the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and bearing down on the U.S. South. It has also shut down most oil and gas production in the Gulf.
 Nate  follows hurricanes Harvey  Irma and Maria  which have devastated areas of the Caribbean and southern United States.
Nate made its first U.S. landfall on Saturday evening near the mouth of the Mississippi River and then made a second one early on Sunday near Biloxi  Mississippi.
Related Coverage South of New Orleans  Nate spares parish devastated by Hurricane Katrina
Three hundred guests remained in the hotel  some eager to try their luck after surviving Nate.
Forecast at one point to make landfall in Louisiana  Nate headed farther east and spared many New Orleans parishes that were devastated by Hurricane Katrina 12 years ago.

SOLUTION:
Positive