The people who are in the protests do NOT want a "Free Society."   They want Sharia "law."  There is nothing free about Islam.  

True, Powell.  There are other considerations when using it.  You have to take many other measures to protect your identity when connecting to the internet.  The only way to be sure you're not being identified is to never mix your personas.  If you seek privacy, you have to make sure you never leave any personally identifable information behind while visiting while visiting any sites.

There's a whole write up on the www.torproject.org website that addresses your concerns.

On another note, by using it are you "sticking your head up" and inviting additional scrutiny?  Possibly.

Tor has its uses, but it slows down access and it is not entirely identity secure nor entirely non-interceptable/non-moniterable.