President Obama has stepped up pressure on their old cold war foe Russia over their actions in the Crimea today. During a press conference at the White House he revealed that increased sanctions will be carried out against Russia, starting with excluding the Russian character of "Chekhov" from the next Star Trek movie.
"Chekhov" who is played by actor Anton Yelchin has been a major character throughout most of the Star Trek films and all of the original TV series, but the President said he had come to the agreement with Paramount pictures to not include the character in the upcoming movie "Star Trek Out of Darkness" as punishment for Vladimir Putin's actions in Ukraine.
A Russian spokesman retaliated with their own threats. Viktor Molotov stated "Either the President assures us that our beloved hero Chekhov is guaranteed a major storyline in the next Star Trek film or we will shut down or American Soul food restaurants in Moscow and returning our Bruce Springsteen albums".
Republicans in congress opposed the Presidents plans describing them as "too harsh" and that "Chekhov's absence in the next Star Trek film will only anger American Star Trek fans" Republican Newt Gingrich proposed banning all games of Tetris instead.
