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 NicolÃ¡s Maduro ? Little evidence has surfaced yet that the protests are organized or have spawned any opposition leaders. It is too early to tell how long the protesters can keep the pressure on the regime to change. In their endeavors  however  it is precisely to Latin America that Iranian protesters should look for guidance â in Iranâs ally Venezuela  where nearly a year of daily protests did nothing to stop  socialist dictator NicolÃ¡s Maduro  from consolidating  his  power.
Where Venezuelaâs street protesters succeeded in attracting international attention  the governmentâs official opposition failed by adopting policies that enabled the regime. For years  the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD)  a Venezuelan opposition coalition led by socialists  attempted to engage in dialogue with the regime. Venezuela saw minimal protests throughout 2016 largely because the opposition leadership was too busy in âdialoguesâ with  Maduro  that resulted in no concrete changes in the country. It happened again last year  when  Maduro  called for a round of elections in which  he  decreed who could run for office and controlled the institutions counting the votes.
The protesters on the streets rejected  Maduroâs  mockery of democracy. The MUD participated  losing a number of member parties along the way. By November  the MUD had called for another round of talks with the government  and protests in the country were all but unheard of.
Venezuelaâs protesters only met half of this challenge. As noted above  the opposition appeared united only in their rejection of  Maduro . Some leaders of the opposition were socialists and demanded only that elections occur â without specifying that they be free and fair. Others identified the socialist system as the problem and have demanded a full overhaul of Venezuelaâs institutions to create a free and democratic capitalist state. Yet more leaders demanded individual fixes  like the liberation of political prisoners or humanitarian aid for the hungry. Outside of âno more  Maduro  â the oppositionâs message was  and  sadly  continues to be  a mess.

SOLUTION: Neutral

PROBLEM: What is the sentiment of the following document towards the entity Kobe Steel ? TOKYO (Reuters) -  Kobe Steel Ltd  admitted on Tuesday  its  data fraud has been going on nearly five decades and also revealed new cases of cheating  highlighting the challenges facing the 112-year-old company mired in compliance failures and malfeasance.
Kobe Steel  which supplies steel parts to manufacturers of cars  planes and trains around the world  admitted last year to supplying products with falsified specifications to about 500 customers  throwing global supply chains into turmoil.
 Kobe Steel  also announced the resignation of Executive Vice President Akira Kaneko and temporary pay cuts for up to 80 percent of all internal directors and executive officers.
 Kobe Steel  President and CEO Hiroya Kawasaki attends a news conference in Tokyo  Japan March 6  2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
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Kobe Steel  said the data cheating started at least as early as the 1970s  based on testimony from multiple sources interviewed by the external investigation team.
 The company  mapped out various preventive measures  including setting up an external committee to oversee quality issues  but those familiar with  the company  say  its  problems are entrenched.
 Kobe Steel  has had a series of scandals in the last dozen years  including taking part in bid-rigging for a bridge project in 2005  failing to report income to tax authorities in 2008  2011 and 2013  and falsifying emissions data in 2006. Illegal political funding to candidates in local elections in 2009 also prompted the resignations of the then CEO and chairman.
The data fraud scandal  though  so far appears to have left  Kobe Steelâs  finances unscathed. In February   the company  reinstated a forecast for  its  first annual profit in three years for the year ending March 31.
But  the company  is also undergoing a U.S. Justice Department probe  meaning  it  still faces legal and financial risk. A Japanese government-sanctioned seal of quality has been revoked on some of its product as well.
âThere is a pending risk for  Kobe Steel  as customers at home or abroad may cancel their contracts and take legal actions  and the U.S. Justice Department may seek a penalty â said Makiko Yoshimura  director at S&P Global Rating Japan.

SOLUTION: Positive

PROBLEM: What is the sentiment of the following document towards the entity Billy Graham ? As Americans mourned the death of  the Rev. Billy Graham  on Wednesday  most remembered  him  as a pastor with the ability to lead thousands to Jesus  take presidents under his wing and console a nation after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
But it was in the suburbs of Chicago where  he  learned how to amplify  his  voice as a preacher.
It didnât take long for  Graham  and the congregation of Western Springs Baptist Church   his  first pulpit after graduation from Wheaton College  to conclude  he  was better suited to preach in stadiums than sanctuaries.
âThis is where  he  got a taste of glory  a taste of fame and the gratification that comes from speaking to huge crowds â said Grant Wacker  author of âAmericaâs Pastor:  Billy Graham  and the Shaping of a Nation â a biography of the national icon. âAnd  he  got the response  he  was looking for.â
Indeed   Graham âs first revivals and rallies in downtown Chicagoâs Orchestra Hall and Soldier Field â forerunners to  his  later international crusades â launched the evangelist into the spotlight for decades to come and steered legions of people to church.  His  pioneering use of mass media including radio  television  magazines and motion pictures only broadened  his  reach.
 Graham  died Wednesday at 99 at  his  home in Montreat  N.C. Wheatonâs president  the Rev. Philip Ryken  said commemorating  Graham âs significant contributions to Christian ministry for the many generations born after  his  heyday would remain a long-term commitment of the flagship evangelical institution.
âI think  Billy Graham  will be regarded as one of the greatest Christian leaders of the 20th century â Ryken said  âand that legacy will last a very long time. â
Graham  a native of North Carolina   was already an ordained Southern Baptist pastor and graduate of Florida Bible Institute (now Trinity College of Florida) when  he  sought a liberal arts education and bachelorâs degree at west suburban Wheaton College in 1940.
 Chicago Tribune historical photo Evangelist Billy Graham  class of 1943   speaks at the commencement exercises at Wheaton College on June 11  1951.  Evangelist Billy Graham  class of 1943   speaks at the commencement exercises at Wheaton College on June 11  1951. (Chicago Tribune historical photo) (Chicago Tribune historical photo)
After hearing the 21-year-old Graham preach in Florida  two members of the Wheaton College board  including the brother of its incoming president  hired  Graham  as their caddy on a golf course and offered to pay  his  first year of tuition if  he  attended the college.
 He  studied anthropology  which some say expanded  his  horizons beyond the biblical theology training  he  already had received.
âIt did make  him  aware in new ways of how societies work  how cultural values are shaped  things  he  could draw upon  especially as  he  traveled the world â said Edith Blumhofer  a professor of history at Wheaton College.
But even more important than the college curriculum were the people  he  met and walked alongside for decades to come  she said  including  his  future wife  Ruth Bell  a fellow student and daughter of Presbyterian missionaries.
It wasnât until 1941  that  Graham   then a 23-year-old college sophomore  took his place before a congregation. The Wheaton College president at the time  V. Raymond Edman  recommended that Graham replace him in the pulpit of Wheatonâs United Gospel Tabernacle.
âIt was where he acquired managerial skills for inspiring and leading organizations and expressing his ministry  not only by preaching but through other people â said  Robert Shuster  who oversees the Billy Graham Center Archives  housed at Wheaton.
âHe was not preaching what a pastor would normally preach to a church audience â said one of Grahamâs former classmates  the late Glyn Evans  in an interview with  Shuster  for the archive several years ago.

SOLUTION:
Positive