Can someone explain Pulsars and Quasars?

[Biologik]

I know that pulsars are Neutron stars that emit their energy through their poles, bit why do they emit it through their poles, and not their sides? And Quasars, I though that all mater that falls into a black hole never escapes, so how do we see the...''stuff'' leaving it?

 

[Janus]

Pulsars emit radiation along their magnetic poles. It is the very reaction of the high spin and strong electromagnetic field which produces the radiation which is focused outward along the magnetic poles. Like the Earth, the magnetic and rotational poles do not have to be aligned, which is why the beam sweeps around like a search light.

The radiation "leaving" Quasars is caused by the high energy collisions of the matter falling into the black hole while it is still outside of the black hole's event horizon.