Setup logging so that it works with utf-8 log files and ensure stdout is outputting in utf-8

logging.py

import logging

# Change the default encoding of stdout to utf-8.
# This is effective if the output is piped or redirected.
import sys
reload(sys)
sys.setdefaultencoding('utf-8')

# Add a file handler with utf-8 encoding
handler = logging.FileHandler('output.log', 'w',
                              encoding = 'utf-8')
root_logger = logging.getLogger()
root_logger.addHandler(handler)