1) Is allowing the dollar to devalue an attempt to force the Chinese to float the Yuan and abandon parity with the dollar?
*** Can't say. Interesting speculation.

2) Does devaluating the dollar hurt the Europeans more than us?
*** Yes, it makes their goods (imports) more expensive.

3) Has OPEC shifted away from taking payment for petroleum in dollars to payment in Euros?
*** No

4) If the answer to question 3) is "yes" then could this lead to a panic devaluation of the dollar followed by significant inflation?

5) What is a wise strategy to shelter assets against a devaluating dollar (I assume buying gold is a bad idea)?
*** Real estate (home) plus buy international mutual funds. Fidelity Diversified International plus a regional (preferably Asian) fund now that Japan is finnaly recovering.

My street creds here are an MBA and the experience of having lost lots of money in bad investments.