Is there a logging system for bitcoind, and if so then where is the log?
The default data location of bitcoind is ~/.Bitcoin on unix and %APPDATA%\Bitcoin on windows. In it, bitcoind will write a debug.log file which is automatically trimmed every once in a while. I'm not sure what is in it, but it should be easy to check. You can also start bitcoind with a commandline parameter to send its debug info to stdout, if you wish.