Science is Cool or Remember When the US Did Cool Stuff?

This video was pointed out to me by @thinkgeek on Twitter.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws6AAhTw7RA[/youtube]

I can’t help thinking a few things… Why is it that this was developed in Israel and not the US? Is research like this even possible without government help? Can I have one? How quickly would Bobby Jindal refuse funding for a train based on this technology?