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 Michael Flynn ? At some point before President Trumpâs inauguration  disgraced national security adviser Michael Flynn assured an ex-business partner that economic sanctions on Russia would be âripped upâ as soon as the new administration entered the White House  according to documents made public Wednesday.
 Flynn  made the promise to Alex Copson  a managing partner of a Russia-connected energy company  a whistleblower told Rep. Elijah Cummings this summer.
Trump calls  Flynn  guilty plea âa shame â blames FBI  Hillary
The unnamed whistleblowerâs claims pose the strongest evidence yet that the nascent Trump White House was looking to rescind sanctions against Russia and also suggests that  Flynn  could have had a personal financial stake in the matter.
 Flynn   who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI last week  worked together with Copsonâs company  ACU Strategic Partners  until June 2016. Their work together involved a deal with the Russian government to build nuclear power plants in the Middle East.
Copson apparently told the whistleblower during an Inauguration Day event in Washington  D.C. that  Flynn  had just texted him that the power plant venture was âgood to go.â
Rep. Elijah Cummings called on the House Oversight Committee to issue subpoenas for White House records pertaining to  Flynn 's contacts with Copson. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
 Flynn âs lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment from the Daily News.
 Flynn  was fired less than a month into  his  tenure as national security adviser after it became clear that  he  had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about  his  contacts with a Russian diplomat. On Friday   Flynn  became the first current or former Trump administration official to agree to cooperate with special prosecutor Robert Muellerâs investigators.
âThese grave allegations compel a full  credible and bipartisan congressional investigation â Cummings wrote  adding that  Flynn  appears to have "sought to manipulate the course of international nuclear policy for the financial gain of  his  former business partners."

SOLUTION: Negative

PROBLEM: What is the sentiment of the following document towards the entity Yuriko Koike ? “If I use a golf course metaphor  right now  I believe we have right (wing parties) and left (wing parties) and nothing in between. So we will present ourselves as the fairway  the very centre of the way ”  Koike  told a policy debate by major party leaders.
The outlook for the election is unclear but some analysts say  Koike ’s party may be losing steam because it had too little time to prepare for the snap poll. Her decision not to run for a lower house seat herself could also deter voters  they said.
 Koike  said  her  party’s policies aim to bring a new idea such as basic income and will be closer to consumers.
“The idea of basic income is still experimental but we think this is something we should consider in the future ”  she  said.
But  Koike  declined to reveal who would lead a government should  her  party  formed only about two weeks ago by  her  supporters and some opposition lawmakers  be in a position to form one.

SOLUTION: Neutral

PROBLEM: What is the sentiment of the following document towards the entity Steve Bannon ? Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon  is likely to meet with special counsel Robert Mueller next week  NBC News reported Tuesday  citing a source familiar with the process.
 Bannon  who headed President Donald Trump's campaign down the stretch of the 2016 election   has come under scrutiny recently due to  his  quotes in Michael Wolff's explosive book "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House." According to the book   Bannon  ripped two of Trump's adult children  Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr.
 Bannon  reportedly struck a deal last month with Mueller's team to avoid testifying before a grand jury. The former Breitbart News chief was the first close Trump staffer or confidant to be served a grand jury subpoena related to Mueller's probe of possible collusion between the campaign and Russia.  Bannon  left the White House in August.
The news of  Bannon 's possible meeting with the special counsel comes as the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said the panel should begin contempt proceedings against  Bannon  if  he  refuses to come back and testify about alleged Russian meddling in the election.
Last month   Bannon  had refused to answer questions about  his  time in the White House during a closed-door session with the House intelligence panel.

SOLUTION:
Positive