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 Eddie Montgomery ? Following the tragic death of  his  musical collaborator and bandmate   Eddie Montgomery  is opening up for one of the first times about what the future holds and how  he  remembers  his  dear friend  Troy Gentry.
Since 1999 the group made music together under the moniker of Montgomery Gentry. Speaking to People in its upcoming issue   Montgomery  revealed that the duo had previously discussed what to do if one of them passed away before the other. The 54-year-old explained that they both agreed to keep the band going  no matter what.
âItâs weird  I always thought it was going to be me that went down first â  he  told the outlet.
âA little piece of my soul got lost there â  Montgomery   told People. âIt was a horrific day  my world changed as much as the band did. Itâs something that you never get over. Itâs going to be in my mind and my soul for the rest of my life.â

SOLUTION: Positive

PROBLEM: What is the sentiment of the following document towards the entity Kim ? The impetus for the talks came in  Kim âs annual New Yearâs speech on January 1  when  he  proposed direct discussions with Seoul âover the issue of improving inter-Korean relations by our nation itself â with the goal to âdefuse the current military tension.â  Kim  also welcomed the upcoming Winter Olympics as a âgood occasion for demonstrating our nationâs prestige â and said  he  wanted to send a delegation.
But while the bilateral talks were widely praised in South Koreaâs media  the US media seemed like a deer caught in the headlights from the first announcement of the breakthrough. Unclear how to respond to a possible outbreak of peace  the press immediately zeroed in on the section of Kimâs New Yearâs speech where he declared that his ânuclear forces are capable of thwarting and counteringâ anything from the United States.  Kim  also reminded Washington that the ânuclear buttonâ is on  his  office desk âall the time.â
Although the Supreme Leader left out some of the harsh anti-US language heâs used in previous declarations  the implied threat became the story for nearly every US media outlet covering his New Yearâs speech. At CNN  for example  reporter Brian Todd went on the air to warn Wolf Blitzer that the prospect of talks was dangerous because it could mask a North Korean military attack during the Olympics. In some broadcasts  Kimâs offer to talk  and Moonâs quick endorsement  were barely mentioned.
 Kim âs reference to  his  nuclear arsenal also drew a typical response from President Trump.  He  took to Twitter to declare that  he   too  had a âbutton â but it was âmuch bigger & more powerfulâ than Kimâs.  His  childish taunt quickly led to speculation about  his  state of mind and fitness to be president  a topic that dominated the White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sandersâs first media briefing of the year.
Asked at a press briefing at Camp David about the potential for negotiations with Kim  he replied: âSure  I always believe in talking.â¦ absolutely I would do that.â Trump âappeared to be strongly indicating that he would join talks with North Korea after the high-level inter-Korean talks  if the conditions are right â South Koreaâs liberal Hankyoreh concluded.
In the lead-up to the talks in Seoul  the mood was close to jubilant. âHopes are high that inter-Korean relations will improve â Hankyoreh reported on January 4. âSince  Kim  delivered  his  New Yearâs address on Jan. 1  North Koreaâs actions have been completely aligned with the Southâs response.â
The pace was set early on by The New York Times  in a front-page story on January 1 posted literally hours after  Kimâs New Yearâs speech .  It  instantly became the leitmotif for media coverage throughout the week.
Behind Kimâs New Yearâs declaration âlies a canny new strategy to initiate direct talks with South Korea in the hope of driving a wedge into its seven-decade alliance with the United States â reported Choe Sang-Hun and David Sanger  the latter a recipient of dozens of US intelligence leaks about North Korea over the years.
In the Choe-Sanger article  the Times cited Robert Litwakâa senior vice president at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars who is well-known in Japan and Korea for his hard-right views on security issuesâto back its claim that Kim is seeking to âtake the side of the South Koreans  against President Trump.â He was then given a large block of space on the Timesâs January 3 op-ed page to spell out his grave concerns for the wayward South Koreans.
âWashington and Seoul should not take Mr. Kimâs bait â Litwak argued. âInstead  the North Korean offer should be put to the diplomatic test through a united Washington-Seoul front.â
Yet despite the clear signals of disapproval from US hard-liners   the Moon and Kim governments pressed on   saying  they  would soon embark on âworking-levelâ talks to discuss the details of the Northâs participation in the Olympics  the family visits  and âsolve bilateral issues among  themselves  without relying on outsideâ forces  according to the Joongang Daily.

SOLUTION: Positive

PROBLEM: What is the sentiment of the following document towards the entity Thomas S. Monson ? The twice-yearly conference is preceding without  church President Thomas S. Monson   90  who is dealing with ailing health. It's the first time in more than a half century that  Monson  hasn't spoken at the conferences. Before becoming church president in 2008  he served on the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles starting in 1963.
 Monson  has scaled back conference participation in recent years  and in May  church officials said that  he  was no longer going regularly to meetings at church offices because of limitations related to  his  age.
 Monson  is the first church president since 1994 not to attend and make at least one speech  but prior to that  it was fairly common for presidents to miss conference toward the end of their lives.
Dieter F. Uchtdorf  one of  Monson 's top two counselors  said  Monson  was watching from  his  home. " President Monson   we love you very much " Uchtdorf said.

SOLUTION:
Negative